The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
by ElfChef
Summary: Vampire sheriff Eric Northman stumbled upon what he feels is nothing but a gold mine, a sexy one. But did he find her? or did she want to be found for reasons he can't imagine. Will be a Ménage à trois love story. E,S & G. All in EPOV. Begins with the 2nd book. Events from the books are used, like Rhodes e.t.c but I put my own spin to them Rated M. Explicit content! Very lemony!
1. This Old Man

Whoa! I really can't believe I'm beginning my 5th Fanfiction. (Rest in Peace Landlord Escapades) For those of you who don't know that piece of smutty goodness for deleted for its smutty goodness. LOL.

Any who, it was a little over a year ago when I decided to try my hand at writing about the universe I loved so much. Over two hundred followers later I still love it! I've learned a few things. First being, I need a beta…Any volunteers? Seriously, help a sister out! Second, I prefer Eric's POV. So this FF will be written from that angle solely. The Viking just has more fun!

I don't think I'll make a lot of friends with this one but in the words of master card…, payment for 5 stories written $0, payment for hours spent $0, kicking up a fuss priceless. ;-)

Enjoy…

Chapter One

Fuck my life right now. Seriously, I'm too old for this shit. That figure of speech was nothing but the literal truth where I'm concerned. You'd think after working my way up into a position of respect and power certain duties would now be beneath me. I mean there were some things that I should no longer have to suffer, oh, like say, a smash and grab. But no one really cared about that now did they? Nope. Instead of being at my bar with my choice of human entrées for the evening I was in fucking Jackson. Jackson!

It wasn't a social visit. I was breaking and entering, trespassing, and doing a whole slew of other illegal things. This wasn't my idea of entertainment. I was trying to rouse the nearly finally dead Bill Compton so we could get out if here but he was in very bad shape, so there was no one to hear me bitch. I sighed internally.

There'd been a time when I would have thrilled at this kind of thing. Now, my shorts would've been in a knot if I'd been wearing any. Maybe I was getting cantankerous in my old age. I had my slice of territory. I guarded it well, and stayed under the radar. I remained on the map just enough to be relevant. I'd attained that delicate balance over the centuries and in comes Bill Compton giving it indigestion.

Officially he's been missing three days, but the last time anyone saw him was six days ago. Judging by his physical condition I would say they have had him all six days. He'd been getting the shit end of southern hospitality, the poor bastard. The room reeked of blood and it all belonged to Bill. There were scents of a two natured creature and a few other vampires. No scent was familiar, that served to both reassure and unnerve me.

The easiest and most effective means of a torture on a vampire is to keep them awake during the day when their undead bodies were supposed to be in a full state of suspended animation, i.e. dead. A vampire would say whatever it was you wanted to be left to rest during the day. In most cases when that was overdone, it broke their minds and they became completely useless for interrogation. So it was best to sprinkle in some physical pain to complement the psychological.

There was something acutely obvious about a mad vampire. Lucky for me most of Bill's injuries appeared to be physical, though I could tell they had not healed the way they should have. That indicated silver poisoning as well lack of rest in the day. Whatever they wanted from him they wanted desperately. Whoever had him was skilled at what they did. It was just speculation, not something I intended to test.

Silver was a vampire's kryptonite. It burned our skin and poisoned our blood and depending on the quantity it may kill us. Someone thought it would be a splendid idea to nail Billy boy to a board with silver nails. I mean it was kind of funny to look at. The way he was sprawled out resembled Da Vinci's Vitruvian man except bloodied and with his clothes in tatters. Upon closer inspection I found Bill looked a lot paler that any undead creature should. With my back against the wall and I worked studiously on freeing him.

"Bill" I held his face and slapped his cheek heavily. If he could come around just a bit it would make things easier. "I am here to take you home" I said in a hurried whisper; hoping to inspire him. His eyes opened but were wandering blindly until at least one of them managed to focus on my face. I saw agony; relief and hunger. There was also terror. That was the most evident next to the pain. He knew something I didn't but I didn't have time to get the specifics right now. I had done my scouting and my plan was going well thus far, so no need to deviate. I'd wanted to get out of here before I ever arrived.

I was using a pair of pinchers to dig the silver nails out his hands. He was choking back sobs. Bloody tears were pooling in his eyes. If I was in his shoes I would refrain from crying. Making any amount of noise was so not part of the plan and he should save what little blood he had left for healing. I knew he needed more but to be frank I wasn't going to give him mine. I didn't know him well enough but if he died, I would have hell to pay. While I worked on him he was drifting in and out of consciousness. So much for conversation I thought scathingly. Then his eyes snapped open and they were very intent and wild with pure terror.

"She knows." Bill hissed. He must have some of this vampire's blood in him because she was not close enough for my senses to detect. "She's coming. Kill me. I don't want her to hold me anymore." That was all very tempting but if killing him was one of my options I would have finished when I found him nailed to the board. I appreciated the offer though. It was considerate. None of that begging, sniveling cowardice.

I moved away from him and used the nails I had removed from his body to nail the door shut. There were also some stakes in the room and I drove them through the door with the sharp end facing out. I used a work bench to barricade the door. No vampire would even think of kicking that door open. A piece of wood in a vampire's body caused excruciating pain. One in the heart ended them for good.

Let's just be clear what I was doing was stalling only, it was not expected to hold for long. It would buy us a few precious seconds. By the time I returned to Bill he had passed out again. Fuck. Seriously, I was not into the whole damsel in distress thing. There was no other way, so I extended my fangs and drove them into my wrist, then I brought the wound to his lips. Instinctively he latched on and drank from me. The wound closed and he tried to make new ones. I slapped him hard so he would release me. As I mentioned I didn't know Bill well enough to want to give him blood never mind allow him to stick his fangs in me. There were very few people I would allow that privilege.

After my begrudging donation he was more alert. His wounds began to close and I saw the film that had glazed his eyes begin to dissipate. I should have asked who "she" was because I assumed someone had given him blood so he wouldn't finally die so they could keep having a bit of fun with him. As it turns out, it was Bill's maker and she was ordering him to fight me.

In terms of strength for the undead, it was accumulated as we got older. A fight between Compton and me was like a two year old fighting a ten year old. It wasn't his fault. Normally he would know better, but an order from a maker to a vampire child had to be obeyed. You can fight it as I suspect Bill was attempting to do but, ultimately you were going to have to do their will. I sighed, fuck my life right now.

He was losing whatever control he had over his body as the will of his maker took root. Had he been in better physical shape he might have held out longer. Such as it was he caved in under a minute and shot up from his wooden board. The remaining nails that I hadn't gotten around to removing went all the way through his hands and chest. That made things easier for me but he left a sizeable amounts of flesh behind and caused himself more damage if his scream of agony was anything to go by.

I could see Bill was still fighting because his steps as he came towards me were spasmodic and unsure, much like a zombie or a drunken hobo.

"What does she look like?" I asked while effortlessly dodging his inept punches.

"No" He pleaded. "Don't kill her. Please." and there goes the respect he had accrued for not begging. If I ever get out of this fucking dungeon I will explain the often dysfunctional; ever indentured one sided relationship between vampires and their creators.

"It's her or you Compton. Who do you like more?" I didn't care who he chose but I wasn't going to finally die here. There were things I had to do tomorrow and that outcome didn't much agree with my calendar.

He nodded as his resolve to survive settled. "Short; freckles; redhead you can't miss her." All this he said while chucking scalpels, hack saws and different size knives at me. I dodged effortlessly.

.Then I eased out the window. I had no plans on missing her. I hung in the air and crept to the entrance that I had barred from the inside. The redhead in question had rounded up a pair of werewolves. She had them removing the stakes that I had placed in the door. By the look on her face. I was sure she would have stood with a whip at their backs had she had one on hand.

The fact that she was his maker gave me no right to interfere. That bond trumped all others but the fact that she was holding him in the abode of another king gave me more leeway. I had to kill her because I would just run into the same problem half way to Louisiana if I forcibly subdued Bill. It was no longer a matter of maker and child but monarch versus monarch. I had duties to fulfill in defense of my queen. The weres Bill's sire brought were making enough noise for me to rip a small piece of paneling from the side of the house without being detected.

What she did to her own creation told me this redhead was not one I wanted to give an opening for a fight. She would take it and she would fight hard. I would win, but I didn't need the extra hassle. Bill was making enough noise to suggest he still had an opponent, so she never saw it coming. She looked down at her chest and saw the piece of wood protruding from it. Her body crumpled and she began to flake before she hit the ground. Her helpers froze and began to morph into their other forms.

"Don't." I gave them a menacing look and shook my head. "My quarrel is not with you"

They did not give chase or complete their transformation into wolf form. They watched me leave. It was not at all surprising that they decided the odds were not in their favor. I went back the way I had come. Back in the room Bill was on his knees weeping at both his freedom and his loss. He can do as he pleases but he wasn't getting any more of my blood. I wrapped my arm around him and went out the window once more. I could not imagine what he was feeling, nor did I care to spend precious seconds trying.

The mansion in Jackson was on high alert and was locked down completely. They missed Bill and me flying in the clouds of the night sky. I landed at a getaway car several miles away where Thalia was waiting.

Thalia was one of the vampires in my area, area five. Area five was in Northern Louisiana. It covered Shreveport and several other surrounding back water towns. I oversee the vampires traveling or residing within those boundaries. Of all the vampires I had, Thalia was the worst. She was almost as old as I was but she had the temperament and self-control of a newly made vampire. She's been kicked out of just about every other area she'd been in. In other words, she was better off alone but for some reason that no one knew, she wouldn't go nomad. She wanted an association with a regime even though that was clearly the last thing she or any sensible leader wanted. I kept her because she was a fierce fighter. I would like to believe I was able to control her. We both knew after me she was looking at the firing squad. Since vampires came out of the coffin the penalties for open aggression against humans were steeper. Deep down I knew she didn't give a shit about that. Anyone who rubbed her the wrong way was going to bleed. It was why whenever I left home for any reason I took her with me. The temptation for her to act up increased with my absence. Plus Pam really hated her.

Thalia said nothing as I loaded Bill into the backseat of the car and gave him a six pack of synthetic blood. I was glad this car was stolen—if this was my corvette I would strap Bill to the hood. He looked like hell and was bleeding everywhere. We reached sixty before we pulled out of the hidden brush. Once we got on the highway Thalia was cruising through the night at twice that speed. The sooner we were out of Mississippi the safer we would be.

"It is Eric" I said to my least favorite person." I have him"

"Bring him to answer to his queen." André said then the line went dead. Bill opened his third bottle of blood and downed half the bottle in one gulp. He knew he was going to need it. André was a real prick. The circumstances wouldn't improve that in the least.

Nothing that had befallen Bill was his fault. Being kidnapped and tortured could happen to anyone. The fact his maker held him meant he was powerless entirely due to his circumstances. It was like being a puppet in the quintessential definition of the word. Had his maker told him to walk into the rising sun with a smile on his face he would have done it. The complete and utter lack of free will was the price for immortality.

For a vampire, in the beginning of their new life there was no God, no heaven or hell, just your maker. It was in the blood he'd taken from the fledgling and the blood they then shared with him or her. A new changeling would recognize no other realities; your maker was all that you had lost and all that you had. He was your mother, brother, wife, husband, friend, lover. He was the dealer of death, the giver of life. He was your protector, your provider, your teacher. All that you could ever be until the true death turned you to ash, was rooted to him.

Over time I'd come to learn it was different for everyone but when I looked back I remember nothing but my maker's face, smiling, consoling, feeding, aiding, and holding me. It was like being wrapped in a cloud of devotion and the truest love. Nothing else penetrated through it for a long time. My body was would seize when my maker entered the room, eagerly awaiting a command. When none came I would ache for his touch, sexual or not.

For your maker you would be anything, do anything just to please him. Nothing, not pain of final death or your own deepest fears could make a vampire infringe upon the will of his maker once it had been decreed. No matter what you desired, no matter how hard you fought, you always complied with that almighty compulsion. Those first years after life and undead living sealed the bond absolutely. While all the rose colored glasses fell away with time, that one fact did not change.

With such a binding one way connection you had to trust the one that bestowed the gift upon you never to abuse the control they held. More often than not, there was some if not complete abuse of power. You know what they say, absolute power corrupts absolutely. Bill had been unfortunate in the lottery drawing. He was even more unlucky that his queen cared nothing of the circumstances around his disappearance. Plainly put it sucked silver stakes to be him. I didn't care enough about him to pity him but the thought crossed my mind.

The next call I made went out to my own vampire child and second-in-command Pamela Ravenscroft. A.K.A Pam or pain in my ass. It all fit her.

"You are well." she said as soon as the lines connected.

"Thought I'd be staked and baked?" I said with a smile in my voice.

"Yes and no." She said cryptically. I rolled my eyes. Pam felt as though no one could watch over me the way she could, least of all Thalia.

"We are going to see her majesty." I informed her. "Look for me by midnight tomorrow."

"I will."

Thalia drove us to the closest air strip and were in the air headed for New Orleans. I spent a great portion of the next three and a half hours with most of my senses dimmed. It was a voluntary state of sensory deprivation. It helped us further tune out the endless world that passed us by because honestly there was no need for me to have to process the same material through my senses over and over. This ability minimized the wear and tear on our minds even though our bodies persisted forever the same in the world we inhabited.

The plane touched down and once again I became reanimated. We were faced with a dozen of the queen's guards when we landed and they escorted us to her estate. Beside me Bill looked unsure as to whether or not he should have accepted my help back in Mississippi. He kept his worries to himself as we entered her majesties home. We both knew running would be futile.

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First chapter. Thoughts, feelings where do you all think it's headed. Let me let you know that Sookie will be entering the scene but she won't be anything like in the books. Any guesses?


	2. Game on

**I wanted to let you all know that this wouldn't have been possible without my SUPER AWESOME Beta, rebecca t.p. wrecker! My work will be more polished from now on. For all you who have been navigating the grammatical mine fields of my fics, I thank you for your bravery and persistence. :D**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter II**

Long as I've been around I'll never claim to have seen everything. I won't attest that all humans are the same. That being said, they are painfully predictable. It was why my kind could barely make the distinction from one blood bag to the next. Area five has been mine since before we revealed our existence to the humans.

The reveal was possible only due to invention of synthetic blood. That little creation made us appear benign. It was a testament to the simplicity of human minds that they felt reassured by this. I didn't enjoy that swill. Can't say I know any vampire who did. It was a supplement in the loosest definition of the word. None of my kind would waste away while on the bottle but damned if we would live on it completely. Other desires are tied innately into drinking fresh from the source. Blood substitute did not appease those hungers as well.

No matter my issues with Tru Blood, I was all for being in the open. A face like mine did not belong in the shadows. Another bonus of exposure was that I was proprietor of my own business. Fangtasia was my brain child. Like I said humans were predictable. This bar was a way for them to get close to that which they deemed impossible not too long ago. They paid me; fervently offered their blood; and paid a cover charge to do so. Not a bad set up I would say. That along with my status in my world afforded me nice things. All I had to do was make sure everyone stayed in their place.

Of course, now my job was harder. Instead of concerning myself with vampires alone I had to watch humans as well. For example, I had to make sure the young man inching towards Thalia didn't get himself killed. In the event he did end up as vampire fodder I had to make sure the trail led a million miles from here. Another problem were radicals that targeted vampires for termination because, apparently we were 'Soulless minions of the devil and were damned.' If I was indeed a minion of Lucifer I didn't know it. One of the most troubling items on the ever growing list of issues were drainers.

Drainers were in essence nothing but drug dealers and the only way to get this particular product was to hunt down a vampire and drain their blood. Dealers then sold it to a growing market of humans who abused our blood. The blood of a vampire did excellent things to the human body. It could heal it from any physical damage with no scarring. It also had cosmetic purposes for the hair, skin and nails. A vampire I knew was contacted by a top cosmetic company soon after the reveal. They wanted to add her blood to a line of concealer. True story. Humans, I just had to shake my head sometimes at their utter lack of pragmatism. Yes, it will make your skin glow but it was also addictive like crack cocaine, so…yeah that was a no go.

There had been a rare occurrence or two when a vampire willingly sold their blood for money. That was against too many laws to count. I took great pleasure in punishing those I found guilty of this. The smart humans that hunted vampires for blood ended them. The greedy ones contained their victim as a means of holding onto their supply. Smart, right? No. The risks were lower even if they hunted a new vampire every night. With captivity you ran the risk of the vampire escaping and going Medieval on your ass. Or they could call for help to an undead that shared their blood, and then the best any drainer could hope for was a quick death. That was the best case scenario and made my job easier. It rarely ever worked out so well; more often than not there was a lot of work involved in apprehending a drainer.

The more frustrating part was of that whole situation was not being able to openly punish the guilty so they could serve as a deterrent. A few nights ago word came to me that a vampire from my area by the name of Mickey had gone missing. His human came to bar in search of him. She wasn't particularly fretful; she searched out of fear of what would happen if she didn't. In my opinion, Mickey was a piece of shit and good riddance to bad rubbish and all that. Being a sheriff meant when things like that happened I had to look into it no matter how badly I didn't want to, and in this case, I really didn't want to.

To think the whole mess with Compton had been out of sight and out of mind for a week now. I forgot about him the minute I left him at the mercy of our queen. That delicate balance I'd worked to maintain was back. The crap with Mickey, no matter how unpleasant, was normal. That thought put me in an okay mood as I entered my bar in my usual uniform, black jeans, black tank top, and black boots.

This part of my job was no hardship nor did I love it. Humans gawked at me—the brave ones came forward to try and catch my eye; the lucky ones got me for a few minutes that were undoubtedly the epitome of their lives; the suicidal ones tried to touch me. Case in point, I bit back a disparaging sigh, and with a flick of my booted foot I sent the middle aged human man flying back. It was enough to draw blood and at least he got his wish to be fed from and fucked, just not from me.

The scent of something sweet registered in my brain before I saw the source of the mouthwatering aroma. In this cesspool, that was quite an accomplishment. Most humans loaded their bodies with so many artificial fragrances that sometimes it was hard to read their blood types. You had the chain smokers that smelled so much like ash that vampires avoided them like the plague. Then you had those that did drugs. They didn't smell good but we avoided them for a different reason. While a vampire wasn't susceptible to blood borne illnesses except for Sino-Aids, we could catch a contact high from recreational drugs and alcohol if the human was fried enough. It was not something any vampire was willing to risk. An unaware vampire might as well be finally dead.

That this scent managed to stand out in the sea of so many others was a rarity. Already I was imagining what he or she would taste like. Instinctively my eyes went to the door. I wasn't the only one that had taken notice. The vampires in the bar had their eyes trained to the entrance. We were all at full attention. Standing in the entry way was a woman that had to be the sexiest thing I've seen in a long time. In the dim lighting her silhouette hung like a light house calling sailors home. As she moved closer I saw what she was wearing and I could have laughed.

White, in a vampire bar? Get real. She might as well have worn a sign around her neck that said 'Bite me. I'm delicious.' She most certainly wasn't a fangbanger, which I expected. Her face was new and fresh on the scene. She might be a tourist. I got my share of those, too.

I drank in her features in greater detail as she moved closer. Her beauty was evident in the contours of her face, pouty lips, a button nose and almond shaped eyes. There was hint of dimples in her cheeks and her eyes sparkled with a silent laughter. It was all too evident in the arch of her bared neck and the swell of her full breasts. Sex appeal wasn't lost, not even a little. It was blended subtly, seamlessly, and exquisitely in the way her curved hips swayed slightly when she moved. Some women simply walked when they moved, others sashayed with confidence. She was somewhere in the middle, moving with a quiet elegance.

Her dress was simple, plain almost. It was knit jersey dress fashioned after a tank top, the design of which coincidentally matched the black one I wore. But the way she looked in it was enough to justify the creation of the world. It stopped six inches above the knee. (Yes I was counting every glorious inch.) The off white color displayed her tan dramatically. Her shoes were strappy little gold high heeled sandals, so was the clip in her hair and minimal jewelry she wore. Her hair was in a single fishtail braid that hung past the middle of her back.

I had to ask myself why I was still staring. I'd paid less attention to naked super models. Looking at her, then at a half-naked woman to her left, I recognized her appeal then. It was just right. Nothing she had on was overdone. It was what drew you into her, made you wonder. Her allure wasn't a neon sign or a walking advertisement. Rather, it sang faintly, smoothly to all men and women with the senses developed enough to pay heed to her call. I was all ears. I closed my eyes and swallowed against all the desires raging in my body. I could feel the energy the other vampires were putting off. It only made my hunger for her blood and body burn brighter. The chase was definitely on. I scanned the room and made eye contact with all the other vampires. This was my house. I wanted her and I would have her. There was no one able to contest me, which was a good thing. Had there been, this little vixen would start a bar fight amongst the undead. I grinned in anticipation. She was mine. No sooner had I made that mental proclamation did her date walk in behind her.

"Fucking mutt" I grumbled under my breath and leaned back in my seat.

It should have occurred to me that one so appealing would not be unattached. She was escorted by a shifter whose name I couldn't remember at the moment. He owned a local eatery in Bon Temps, a small town in my area where the vampire population was a whopping one: Bill Compton. He would know the name of this mutt. Was it Simon? Maybe it was Samson? It started with an 'S' I was sure of it.

Had she been with a mundane human I would have glamoured her right from under his arm. A shifter, presumably one with the guts to walk into a vampire club, wouldn't take the theft of his female lying down. He was a creature of the super natural. Even if he didn't make a scene right here and now, which I wasn't sure he wouldn't, he had a voice. He would take his grievance to the local pack master and so forth. I didn't need the headache. I wouldn't rock my boat, no matter how enticing the prize. It was a waste. She smelled absolutely delicious and he didn't drink blood.

Clancy shot me a self-satisfied grin. He had to respect my claim as master of the house even though he didn't want to. The fact that I just had my claim to the delectable morsel trumped pleased him, the ginger haired asshole. The shifter draped a possessive arm around her and led her to the bar. While she ordered her drink, he scanned the area and sized up every single vampire. I smiled at him when our eyes met. He wouldn't prohibit my advances, not really. He was a mere hurdle I would get around. Lucky for me I had patience and perseverance in spades. I always won out in the end. Game on.

I monitored the activity in the bar, but there was also a part of me that was keeping an eye on the fresh face in the crowd. My opportunity came when her date went to the restrooms. He sat her at the bar with a stern look. He was probably giving her strict instruction on watching her drink and making no eye contact.

Up close she smelled divine even with the lingering traces her shifter around her. My height gave me a vantage point to breathe it in fully. Her hair smelled like almond and vanilla. The slight sheen of sweat on her brow smelled like fresh rain. Her skin held an altogether luscious trace of lilacs and cream. My fangs strained against my gums with their need to extend. Patience, I reminded myself.

I'd made no accommodation to the speed I used to reach her. To her senses it would appear as though I'd come out of nowhere. I liked that. I wanted to increase the beat of her heart. It would do nothing but sound the alarms to my senses, but she didn't flinch though she spared me look from the corner of her eye.

"I will buy you a drink." True to my assumptions she didn't look up from the drink that was in front of her. By the smell of it, it was watered down gin and tonic. She'd barely touched it. So she wasn't a drinker. "A bottle of water." I called to Long Shadow. He slid the bottle immediately across the counter. "Here you are," I said, placing it next to her glass.

"Thank you." She said. Her voice was soft but sure. It suited her. It held traces of the accent native to these parts but just so.

She still didn't look up. Nor did she touch the beverage, smart girl. She would have to tip her head back to drink and that would offer me a glimpse of her eyes. This wasn't as easy as I thought it would be, but I wasn't annoyed. It was not often I found a challenge. I was reveling in this one.

"You're welcome, pet."

"I'm not your pet." Her voice was thick with defiance and annoyance. Her neck moved the most infinitesimal amount as if to look at me to show her ire. I grinned. I had a few more seconds, thirty at the most before her date returned, no doubt he was taking the shortest piss in history. With the time I had I would goad her into looking up. It wasn't a difficult objective. Humans were predictable. Her hot button was my arrogance. I certainly had a lot of that to show her.

"Not my pet, at least not yet, but you certainly belong to someone," I drawled, leaning back casually on the counter so I was facing her. Everyone around us, no matter how badly they wanted a drink, gave us wide berth. "A girl like you wouldn't last two seconds in the world without a chaperone." Her jaw clamped and I heard her teeth grind. I bit back a satisfied grin. So easy. "In a place like this, you'd be eaten alive," I said with a throaty chuckle. "In more ways than one." Her cheeks flushed and her heart beat sped up but still she didn't take the bait. I continued taking cheap shots and moving well into her space. Despite the public setting she should be afraid of me. Her reflexes would make her balk and lean to the side to protect her neck. That didn't work either. "He's trained you to a good little human" I was really trying to get under her skin. "I like. Sit, stay, fetch." I let out another chuckle, this one mocking. "Speak." I said in the light encouraging tone humans used with their pets. She balled her hands in white knuckled fists on her lap. Still she didn't budge "Haven't mastered that trick I see. I'll still give you a treat."

Her date was out of the restroom and was making a bee line for her. He looked more than angry at my presence. The objective I'd set wasn't met but oddly enough I couldn't call this a loss. Antagonizing her had been more fun that I thought it would be. It gave me some knowledge of my quarry. It also made me want her more.

"I hope you have fun, jerk." She said in an acerbic tone as she rose from her bar stool. She exited on the opposite side of me and into the arms of the shifter.

"Fun with what my future lover?" I asked, thoroughly amused. Her lips thinned into a hard line at the term I addressed her with. I was grinning full out. There was no sense beating around the bush. I would have her and the sooner she and her current partner knew this the better. If he were being reasonable he would know I didn't want her for long. He could have her back when I was bored, which wouldn't take long, not long at all.

She shot me a smug look "With the police raid that will happen in," her head tilted to the left. "Three, two…"

By the time her countdown began I had grabbed Thalia and was hauling her out the side door with me. Had it been Pam I could have left her here to smooth talk her way out of just about anything, not Thalia. She would have turned the raid into a blood bath. There was nothing brimming with more false confidence than human police officers. They would attempt to look and or talk to her or heaven forbid touch her and she in turn would eat their faces.

Vampires were excellent at nonverbal communication. My hasty exit was as good as sounding the alarms; the fact that I had toted Thalia with me meant even bigger trouble. It gave several other vampires a chance to get out too. We exited the club through the side entrance seconds before the music inside came to abrupt halt and the officials announced themselves.

I held out my car keys to Thalia. "Drive straight home"

Most vampires wore a mask of cool expressionlessness. Thalia scowled. It was a stark contradiction to her faint almost ethereal physical splendor. She had hair the color of raven's wing; lips the color of a pink rose and round eyes the color seafoam. They were almost too big for her face bu that only gave her a vulnerable air or at least it used to. I have yet to see them not narrowed menacingly at one thing or another. As she looked at the keys as if they offended her to her core that glower was somehow even more pronounced. Sometimes I've wondered if it remained on her face even as she fed or slept.

"I've done nothing wrong." She growled.

"I didn't say you have." Was my cool retort.

The fact Thalia questioned me should have resulted in her losing her fangs. There were a few vampires that could attest to that fact. No one under my control questioned me, save Pam but that was different. She knew when and where. Thalia's willful insubordination was not the same as Pam's. Where my other child was much like myself, teasing and fun maybe even a little mischievous Thalia was…not.

She questioned me because she could. She defied me because she feared nothing. According to her I've already done the worst possible thing to her that I a sire could do to their child. I was tempted to introduce her to Lorena to test that score. Whether or not I agreed with her assertions I was still at fault because I continued to tolerate her behavior, lack of restraint being the least of it. Not only that I suffered her presence when we both knew I didn't have to. It gave her license for her dereliction of duty and obedience. I told myself that one day she would push me too far and I would right that one mistake that haunted me like a fucking specter.

"Take the damn keys" I snapped shoving them into her hand.

In response she crushed them and launched them into another zip code. Her glare matched mine, She met my flaring aggression with utter defiance.

Yeah, definitely one of these days I would put her out of my misery. It wasn't today "Get out of my sight" I hissed.

She spun on her heel walked away.

I was pissed. Sitting on the roof of the bar monitoring the situation didn't help. I had a headache just thinking of it all. The raid would result in thousands of dollars' worth of citations. There might also be more than one vampire that would have to be bailed out before dawn. I began making calls to begin the cleanup.

"Tell me you're not cops."

The human and her date were getting ready to embark on a motorcycle. They both turned as I approached. The woman had donned a leather jacket over her dress and a helmet was tucked under her arm. It was all I could see of her. She was slightly behind her date's back. It wouldn't save either of them.

"No" the shifter said moving forward. He was giving himself room to transform if it came to that. It told me two things. The woman knew what he was. He also cared more about her than he did about keeping his existence secret from any around that would see.

"You can either tell me right now how you knew about the raid," my voice had turned to gravel "or you can tell me when I come looking for you and woman, believe me he won't be enough to protect you from the likes of me." Any sensible creature would recognize the ultimatum for what is was and choose wisely.

She moved to the side and I saw her face but the shifter spoke over her. "Don't." then he pulled her back behind him. I watched with thinly veiled fury as he placed the helmet on her head, sat her on the bike and sped off.

"Unwise," I said long after they'd gone. "Most unwise."

No one kicked up a fuss in my area, it did nothing but incite my wrath. It was not something anyone wanted to deal with. I lived to maintain the balance I'd achieved and I'd kill for it too. It would be such a shame to have to kill the woman but I knew I would if I didn't get the information I wanted. Since she'd brought an issue to my house I would do as I threatened and return the favor.


	3. Mine

**Chapter Three**

The name of the blonde haired, blue eyed, delicious human that played a part in the police raid was Sookie Stackhouse. Bobby, my day man found out she wasn't a cop. The two elderly women I found sitting and knitting on their rocking chairs, gave me her life story. Old people knew everything about anyone; they were walking talking history and gossip emporiums. It was because people wrote them off and spoke freely around them.

Contrary to what Booby found she wasn't new in town. Sookie Stackhouse was born in Bon Temps and remained here until her early teens. Apparently her entire family: mother, father, and an older brother died in a car accident when she was eight. She was taken in by her paternal grandmother, Adele Stackhouse. Seven years later death paid her another visit in the form of a heart attack and claimed her grandmother.

She moved back a little over a year ago after her last living relative, a great uncle, Bartlett Hale died, leaving her with two houses, one rusty truck and ten thousand dollars. She gave the truck away to a local single mother and work colleague in need. She donated the cash to the church. The old Betties wouldn't stop singing her praises over that. Then she sold the smaller of the two houses, choosing to inhabit the one that had been in her family for generations.

Seeing she'd been so desperate to leave that she ran away at fifteen, her returning to stay was perplexing. The house she sold couldn't have been worth much. Combined, her inheritance shouldn't have been enough to entice her to live in this part of America especially because she pretty much gave it all away. It wasn't like she didn't need the money seeing she was working as a waitress. There was no man in her life to speak of that supported her, no children, no close friends. She was a described as having always been a 'little strange but sweet as pie'. All in all there was nothing concrete that pointed to how she knew about the raid.

Everything I uncovered took barely one day. Bobby did his thing during the day. I found out the rest this evening. I wasn't joking when I told her I'd come for her. Now that I had I was in no mood for games. Her home was in a little farm house. It wasn't remarkable. It was two stories with a drive way that was just waiting to kill the shocks in someone's car. There was a sizeable shed that was nestled to the left of it. I looked inside and found I couldn't enter.

It held the same enchantments that prevented a vampire from entering the home of a mortal without an invite. I had no idea why that was. Supposedly it was to protect the humans from the undead but the point was moot with our ability to glamour. It was simple enough to go up to the door, ring the bell and compel the inhabitants to let me in. I loved loopholes.

The location of the woman's home was ideal for interrogation and murder if it came to that. There was no one around for miles and miles. There was also a handy cemetery that separated her home and oddly enough, that of Bill Compton. All in all it was a good place to have the kind of conversation I intended.

I arrived as soon as I could after first dark to find that Sookie was home alone, with the exception of a pet. If I had to guess I would say it was a cat. How did I know it wasn't her shifter? There was no way to explain it, I just did. A shifter or any other supernatural creature felt different when I heard the heart beat or caught the scent. A were might take the form of a wolf and a shifter might take the form of a lion, but there was something in their makeup that registered as other. It was that underlying difference that allowed me to make the distinction. There was no doubt in my mind that Sookie was home alone with her pet.

She seemed to be cleaning. The drawn shades of her home allowed for excellent vantage points. I could see her dancing as she went business. Music played loudly in the background. If I was not mistaken it was Elvis Presley. I wondered if she would have chosen the same soundtrack if she knew the real Elvis was a vampire that still frequented the south. Would she have chosen it if she knew it might be the last song she ever heard? It was always so with humans. They moved with a blithe ease and an almost amusing obliviousness to the world around them. Then they blinked and it was all over.

As it turns out the shifter's name was Sam Merlotte. He owned the local watering hole in Bon Temps. He wasn't anything to Sookie but her employer. The day they came to the bar had been her birthday and he had taken her out. It was safe to assume that was the only reason he would set foot in a vampire bar. She was not his so I would have no repercussions from the two natured in the community. Now that I thought about it he'd been more like a body guard than a lover, more good news for me.

I continued to watch her and hoped she wouldn't force my hand. There was no satisfaction in killing a defenseless woman. I hadn't been a human man in a long time but that part of me still lingered, not to say I wouldn't do it. I wouldn't enjoy it and I wouldn't get to try out that body of hers. Figuratively speaking of course, I wanted to have my cake and eat it too.

I had some advantages though. Glamour was the main one to call on in this type situation. It was a form of hypnosis. It didn't remove memories; short of injuries to the brain, nothing could. However being a vampire gave me the ability to alter events in the way they are perceived by human minds. In most cases I just buried things under a fog with a simple command 'You don't remember this' is a favorite of mine. The memory burrowed stages deeper than the name of an old face. It faded into the jumbled place in the mind, where there was even an even more abundant river of forgotten places, faces, names, and events. It was pretty handy but had its drawbacks. You had to know what to ask a person for while they were under your thrall. The problem was I didn't know that in this scenario. I also couldn't use threats of harming the shifter against her. I was back to square one. Irritating.

Ideally I wanted to get information without having to harm her. Getting violent with her seemed likely. Our first meeting told me as much. She was stubborn. Harming her would damage that made for sin body of hers. Even if I glamoured away the pain I inflicted, the damage would still be evident on her body. Furthermore I couldn't glamour deep trauma away, no vampire could. On an instinctive level she would always fear me even if she couldn't remember why. No doubt if I got physical she would be more than traumatized by the time I was finished. She wasn't liable to jump on the closest flat surface and let me have my wicked way with her. Forced sex was not something I was into, neither was glamouring women into giving themselves to me. I wanted her to give me what I wanted. Was that so hard? I mused darkly.

I was aggrieved enough but then she added the horrendous noise of her singing. I cringed and moved back a few paces but couldn't help but smile as she twirled around a chair in the kitchen. She was really quite beautiful. It hadn't changed because she was dressed in t-shirt and jeans. None of the elements of her beauty were absent. She was just as graceful, just as stunning. I sighed. I wanted her still so I hoped there would be no violence. In the parking lot she had looked ready to talk. It was the shifter who'd stopped her. I could be charming when I applied myself, with some sweet words and dazzling smile she would willingly tell me what I wanted to know. Then I could pursue more pleasurable endeavors. Once she had settled in for the night but was not quite asleep I made my move.

The backdoor didn't offer her a chance to see the caller. Lucky for me she wasn't careful enough to ask me to identify myself before she opened the door. It was a drawback to living in a small town; it afforded the inhabitants with a false sense of security. The door hadn't even been locked.

It took only a fraction of a second but that was all I needed. I held her eyes in mine. "Invite me in" I husked.

"No." was her firm reply and then she slammed the door in my face.

What the…? For several seconds I just stood there, frowning and blinking dumbly at the closed door. She was human. I was sure of that much, she smelled sweet but she was human. I didn't know what to make of that.

"Are you gonna leave or am I gonna have to call the sheriff?"

I had to smile. All the bravado in her voice and she was peeking at me from the kitchen window.

"I am a sheriff and I'm here on official business." I hadn't lied really. I was being very liberal with the truth.

She snorted delicately "Then you have the wrong house. Bill is across the cemetery." Her voice wavered at the very end, "…Well least he was. I haven't seen him in almost a month." There was another pause and I knew she was hoping I would insert an answer. I wouldn't. She would have to ask it of me and thus give me more power "Do you know where he is?" She finally asked.

Yes "Maybe."

"You're a very a piss poor sheriff"

I chuckled. "Okay, I do know where Bill is as his sheriff, it is my duty." Then I moved over to the window, hovering slightly off the ground so we were face to face. She was startled but didn't flinch, bold this one. It made me think she would be a thrill in bed. I so wanted to find out. "You know something I do not and vice versa, we will trade, yes?"

"You want to know two things, right?"

Smart of her to press her advantage. I could see where she thought she was leading me so I let her carry on.

After I nodded she continued. "It won't be an even trade you want to know two things and I only want to know about Bill" Her concern over him didn't bother me. From what I've learned she was a kind and caring person. It was obvious she extended those qualities to the undead. I'd also heard nothing of her associating with vampires. An old lady would not leave that kind of thing out.

The pep talk I'd given myself about patience seemed like bullshit right about now. I wanted to be inside her. The low cut of her night shirt offered a view of her cleavage and I had to say she had a spectacular pair. I was itching to touch.

"There is something else you desire from me, future lover of mine."

Every word I spoke practically oozed sex. Leaning forward slightly I gave her my most tempting bedroom eyes. They were fixated on her lips. It left her with no illusions that I wanted to trace their fullness with my tongue. "Tell me what you want," I was practically purring. I knew my words affected her. I also knew she wanted me. Her pulse was racing higher now than it did when I'd shown up on her door. Her face was slightly flushed and her nipples were tights buds under the thin cotton. A slight wind blew blowing my hair with it. She watched almost mesmerized as I tucked the blond strands behind my ear. "Let me in," I tried glamouring her again. Perhaps my first attempt had been too hasty and she had a particularly thick skull. Having her so focused on me would make it easier. Hell, she wanted to invite me in glamour or no.

"I feel what you're trying to do," she said without breaking eye contact. "It won't work."

"Tell me why."

"First you do me one favor and answer one question. Then I'll tell you."

I growled low and dangerous. "You test my patience."

She shrugged "Now you know how it feels." She frowned deeply. "Sit, stay, fetch ha ha ha, I'm Mr. Funny Vampire"

It was her own fault. Had she looked at me like I wanted to I wouldn't have had to raze her so badly. I couldn't help but grin at the memory. That had been most amusing. I really couldn't remember the last time a human offered that much entertainment. "Two questions and one favor each," I concluded.

"Where is Bill?"

"He was badly wounded and is away at a safer location healing."

"What…will he come back?"

"Yes."

"My turn" I said not hiding my glee. She looked uncomfortable. Good, it was about time. "How did you know about the raid?" I watched intently through narrowed lids for any signs of deceit.

"I'm a telepath."

My face gave nothing away even as I was thinking of all the ways she could be of use to me. That was the last thing I was expecting. I've seen all manner of things, but a telepath wasn't one of them. I knew they existed. I've heard of one, but this one would be mine. There was money to be made in loaning her out. That would increase my area's earnings. Sophie-Anne would also have a claim to her but not exclusive rights since I found her and she was in my area. I moved to my next question.

"Can you read my mind?" I didn't think she could.

"No but I can feel it." She furrowed her brow as if searching for a way to explain "It's like a void in the air, a black hole almost."

With all the ways I contemplated killing her while I laid in wait tonight she would not be here so boldly. Then again maybe distance played a part in her ability. Improbable, she would not have agreed to the questions and answers session if that was the case. What were her limitations, range and weaknesses? Those were facts I needed to know. I had used up my questions and I knew she would give me no more, at least not tonight.

"You knew I was here the moment I arrived."

"I thought it was Bill."

"You knew it wasn't," I countered.

"Only when you didn't come to the door" She said with stifling a yawn. I had to smile—even that looked good on her. "There is someone killing women that associate with vampires."

I've heard of this, so far there had been five victims. It wasn't a vampire reliving Jack the ripper so I didn't care. In this instance I would have to look into it if that was what she asked. The price for this would be very steep. A human killer was the human's problem. They wouldn't do anything to help vampires in need. They didn't yet call it murder when of you their killed one of us because there was no body left behind upon our final death. Well, we didn't call it murder when one of theirs started hunting them. We called it Darwinism or pay back.

"Do you know who this person is?"

She nodded her face clouded over with something a kin to disgust "Yes."

The police wouldn't have believed her if she'd gone to them with the information. That was if they didn't arrest her on suspicions of being an accessory to the crimes. In my experience when things like this happened, humans ached for a scape goat. In the unlikely event they did believe her, nothing she gave them would hold up in court. This might have been why she was looking for Bill. He would have helped without qualification if for no other reason than because she was a pretty face and a neighbor. He was a southern gentleman like that. I on the other hand never did quite shake the ingrained Viking in me.

"Am I to kill him?"

Her reply was firm and instantaneous. "No"

It told me that she was like most of her species after all, impractical. She found murder abhorrent even the murder of an insane mass murderer. I so didn't get it. It would save a lot of people a lot of headache myself included if I bled him dry and fed him to gators. Yes, I've done that before. But I had to engineer a situation where he was caught by the human authorities. That too I've done before. The former would have been more preferable there were fewer margins for error.

"Very well I will do this" I wouldn't enjoy it but I was gaining a lot more than the trouble was worth. I had no complaints. "This is what I ask of you, that you use your ability to aide me whenever I desire"

* * *

**So how do you guys feel about the super arrogant and slightly darker Eric? I showed it this way because over times we'll see a slow and steady metamorphosis where Sookie is concerned. **

**I've finished a few more chapters and I will serve up hot as soon as I can.**


	4. To The Test

**Chapter Four**

The next night I was in Fangtasia looking at the email from my accountant, Bruce He was a standup guy, middle aged, wife, kids, and a lengthy work experience. He couldn't steal from me. I knew he couldn't because I glamoured him into never being able to do so. The mere thought of taking money from me would fill him with so much terror that I was sure he'd wet himself. Because of that, the message I was reading was troubling.

Bruce hadn't stolen from me, which was good news for him, but it meant someone here at the club had. Who? I wanted to say it was one of the human waitresses because that was the deposit slips and the account was suggesting. Automatically I was thinking vampire just because the trail didn't at all lead there. Be the thief human or vampire, I was going to assist someone in their suicide. Sure as day that was what stealing from me amounted to.

The idea entered my mind and I had to admit it was good one. Having over sixty grand missing would be a chance to test the abilities of the telepath. She agreed to work for me but there had been some negotiations. I had anticipated it. I'd gotten a lot more than I would have gotten with an expert negotiator.

Sookie had given me five years of service, a year for each victim "The Fanger" serial killer had claimed. Of course I wouldn't let her go after that short a term, but it gave me enough time to think of some other reason to make her stay. Unbeknownst to her, I was signing her up for immortal pre-school. I didn't want to turn her yet; no matter how valuable she was, I had my hands full. I knew once she found out about Sookie, Sophie-Anne would want to make her vampire. Five years was more than enough time for me to tempt any one human to join ranks for eternity.

Whether she embraced it or not, she would become an asset of the state. She would be afforded my protection as a consort of high value to the crown. It meant that the vampires in my area would have to defend her. When she was away from home on assignment, I would be her escort. She'd balked at the possibility of having to travel, citing her job as a bar maid. That job would not beg a pardon from her duties to me. The best I would do was offer as much notice as possible. In the end she conceded—with very little grace.

The only limit that she'd been adamant about was no murders. Nothing she unearthed from the minds of a human could lead to their deaths at my hands or by my sanction. I agreed because there were a lot of things to do to a person that were worse than death. Another point of the negotiations was money. I had expected her to shoot high but she hadn't even mentioned it. I walked away, but something about the state of her home changed my mind. It could've been the craters in her drive way or the loose floor board on the back steps. I wasn't sure, but I knew I was going to pay her. Let it not be said that I wasn't fair in my dealings.

"Pam," I barely raised my voice but I knew she heard me from her place on the main dance floor. She normally did a walk through before the doors opened. It was more important now more than ever. The raid had resulted in several fines from the health and safety office as well as the fire marshal.

Vampires didn't set the same standards for hazardous as humans. In my opinion if having a single barstool in front of an emergency entrance was what killed you in the event of a fire then you deserved to die. Rules were rules and owning a business that catered to humans meant I wasn't exempt. So Pam was delegated to do these walkthroughs. I liked her thoroughness and could always depend on it, but now I needed her to run an errand that I could trust only her with.

"I was just coming to find you," she said, appearing almost immediately. "Thalia's gone off again."

I ran my hand over my face in an open show of frustration. And just when I thought I was having a good day. It wasn't the fact that she disappeared that was aggravating. It was that she'd done so without permission or notice. In situations like this, the liability she posed was that much more evident. I couldn't order her to return to me.

When it came to converting a human to the undead there was a protocol to follow but then there were other variables that couldn't be dictated or controlled. I credited it to the mystical aspect of vampirism. Some vampires didn't come out on the other side entirely as they should. Bubba, or Elvis Presley, was a prime example. His body had been loaded with drugs and there was already brain damage, but his maker knowingly converted him, and he's not been right since. Bubba was strangely innocent, almost childlike. He was a good soldier because he followed directions to the letter, taking all orders literally. He fed from cats, abhorring human blood. That wasn't it for his peculiarities. He was so unvamperic that he could enter the home of a mortal without an invitation. He was now a liability that all the southern states had to shoulder.

I had a similar problem. Yes, I'd drained Thalia,, and yes I'd then in turn given her my blood. She'd lain dead for three nights and risen. It has been downhill ever since where our relationship was concerned. I had been utterly devoted to my maker. Thalia wept constantly and pined grievously for what she'd lost, which was nothing, nothing at all. Her life had been miserable. Her father was a violent drunk and her stepmother was a hag of epic proportions. They were forcing her to wed a man that beat his last wife to death. In my eyes, I'd been her savior. She repaid it with provincial human ideals. I didn't feel like I should have to deal with it. I didn't want to and so I didn't.

I sent her away after only teaching her enough to assuage my conscience, which wasn't much. She would either adapt or she would die. I'd left her in Greece and moved on. Before I was out of the town where I found her and turned her, I stopped feeling her within me. I assumed she was no more. As it turns out not taking the necessary time to seal the bond between us left her with wiggle room regarding maker commands, and she used it. If only to be a thorn in my side, she made use of it. I couldn't locate her by blood or sense her emotions and she couldn't do the same with me or Pam.

"She will come back," I replied.

And when she did I would punish her but it wouldn't change a thing. She didn't care. The last time she did this she was gone for a week. I bound her in silver and left her to starve for nearly a month. It didn't make an impact. Subjecting her to the usual grueling knife work form of torture I would dole out to another under my charge that defied me was not something I could do to her. It was what made Lorena such a special head case. No maker should have been able to stomach that. Even with our bond watered down and muddled I couldn't bring myself to attend or endorse the task.

"We have other more important issues. I need you to pick up the telepath and bring her here."

We were all partners in Fangtasia; Pam, Long Shadow, and I. I didn't tell Long Shadow because he wasn't of my blood and I didn't trust him anymore than I did any other vampire. It wasn't that I suspected him. I would simply inform him of the situation once Pam arrived with the telepath, which happened exactly an hour later.

"Sookie," I let her name roll of my lips like a lover's caress. Up close I saw she wore no makeup. Her beauty was effortless and ever present I was starting to realize. She looked just as phenomenal as I remembered. She was dressed in a yellow dress and white sandals but she looked so very enticing. The color and cut of the dress drew my eyes to all my favorite things about her physique. It was strapless so instantly I was drinking in the curve of her breasts. It cinched at the waist and I could almost see my hands tracing the contours beneath. It flared from there and I was thinking of her immaculately flared hips and her tight little bottom.

"Evening, Sheriff." Her tone was cordial; polite, but not warm.

"Call me Eric, lover." Her long hair was held back from her face with a white headband and spilled over her shoulders like the tides of a golden river. I couldn't resist touching. I loved the way she didn't shrink back; no matter how quickly I entered her personal space. Her rapid pulse gave her away, but she didn't flinch. There was a wayward curl that was peeking from under the band and I pushed it behind her ear. Her face flushed, her pulse ratcheted up. Her scent was clouded with anxiety but somehow she managed to smell heavenly.

"I'm calling you Sheriff because I don't want you calling me lover," she said with a step to the side. As if that would stop me.

I told her about the missing money and any and all staff that had means and opportunity.

"Ginger." Sookie said after staring blankly at the wall for a moment.

"That was fast," I murmured. It wasn't that I doubted her accuracy, I had just been expecting more…dazzle. I'd gathered all my human employees thinking she would need to maybe rub their temples or something. Aside from squinting mildly and a brief tension in her shoulders, there'd been no sign that she was doing anything other than sitting there looking tempting.

"What I can do doesn't have a switch," she said moving against a wall and bracing her back against it. "I can't turn it on and off. The only way to stay sane is to block it. When I'm searching for something like with the serial killer I open the flood gates if you will." She looked up at me then, "Thanks by the way."

I nodded. The frame job I'd done at her behest had been nothing. It wasn't worth mentioning. Rene Lenier kept souvenirs of each victim, which made things a lot easier for me. He took them with him in his car and the local sheriff pulled him over at my suggestion. Long story short, some deputy was getting a pat on the back for my work.

"She's stealing it from the souvenir stand." There was more silence and her eyes moved as if following the woman in the flesh. "Someone is making her do it, …a vampire. There is no memory of the actual thefts, just a fuzzy blank after she closes the register and hands over the till. She's been glamoured a lot," Sookie added with a grimace. "A whole lot."

"Can you dig past glamour?" I asked with deceptive coolness.

Her brows furrowed in that telltale sign of discomfort. "I don't know."

"But you can try," I pressed.

She scowled, "That would involve touching. I'd really rather not. Physical contact makes other peoples' thoughts louder and more…colorful. I get emotions too, and those take longer to fade. I try to avoid that."

I eyed her, "Are you a virgin?"

Her face flushed at least ten shades redder and she looked mortified. Then she hitched her chin in indignation, "There is no way I'm going to dignify that with a response."

That reticence to touch explained the lack of a man in her life. A previous vampire in her life wasn't likely. She was much too wary of vampires for that. Also if she had indeed had an undead lover, her birthday wouldn't have been her first time in Fangtasia. Unless she had suffered the intense physical contact that came with sex with a human man, I didn't see why she wouldn't be virgin. A human couldn't appreciate her ability and beauty with their obtuse senses. She would never be for one of them.

I was sure I would ruin her for every other male once I had her. There was no doubt that I would, either. The thought that no other man had explored her depths sent a thrill shooting through me. It was odd. I actually preferred more experienced women. Virgins were clingy and the older they were the more value they placed on their chastity. I couldn't fault them that. There were some that placed a high value on it, both human and vampires alike. In the old world many a vampire had paid handsomely for virgin blood. I couldn't care less.

I fucked like I fought: hard and with infinite finesse. It was best with a woman that was wild and uninhibited. I didn't have the patience to train a lover. I also didn't have the time to invest as I kept women for no more than one or two encounters. Yet where Sookie was concerned, her inexperience pleased me. It could be because she was making me wait. No, that wasn't it entirely. It was the fact that innocent as she might be, she exuded raw sex appeal.

"I now understand your apprehension," I murmured "But rest assured I would be a gentle and attentive lover. I would make your first time unforgettable."

"We are soo done talking about this." She then put the width of the room between us.

Little did she know she was doing nothing but whetting my appetite and enticing the innate predator within. She ran, so I chased. It was truly that simple. I smiled at her, listening as her little heart thumped wildly with a mixture of anger and disbelief. It sharpened her scent and for that reason alone I wanted to continue taunting her. As annoyed and embarrassed as she was already it would be too easy. I resisted in the name of getting back on topic.

It was no surprise I got my way in the end. Sookie would touch Ginger to ferret out as much detail as she could about the thefts. I was seated beside her holding one of her hands in both of mine. She hand little dainty hands adorned with blunt nails that were bare of polish. I toyed with her knuckles and the pounding pulse point on her wrist. By the time Ginger sat down Sookie was squirming in her seat but couldn't break contact. My touch would help mute the mental onslaught she would suffer. Compromises where possible would be the way to go with her, especially because force or coercion weren't possible.

"What's up?" Long Shadow asked.

"It appears Ginger's been stealing from us," I said absently. "Sixty thousand total." My attention was on Sookie's hands even after Ginger started bawling and swearing up and down that she hadn't stolen anything.

"Dumb bitch," Long Shadow said advancing towards her with fangs extended. His intent was clear, "Real dumb." Just like that I knew it was him. Killing her would silence her but there would be no chance of recovering any of the money. Had he been innocent that would have been his priority, not hastily killing a five foot nothing stick of a woman.

"Ginger," I called over her mounting hysteria. "Come sit down and give the nice lady your hand."

By the grin Long Shadow was wearing he was probably thinking I was going to hack off her hand. I'd see just how much he liked it when I was slapping him with his own thieving hands. Ginger must have been thinking along the same lines because she didn't move. She stared, eyes wide with fright. She was shaking her head back and forth in a short jerky motion of denial.

"It's okay," Sookie said in a lulling tone. "There's nothing in my hand to hurt you." She placed both her hands on the table, taking my left hand with her as it was still intertwined with her right. "See, we're just holding hands is all."

"Why do you have to touch me?"

"I can see what happened to the money. I can read it your mind but you have to calm down."

"You can't possibly trust your newest whore to clear an old theft no matter what abilities she claims to have," Long Shadow foolishly taunted.

Beside me I felt Sookie tense at the insult but she made no reply. She continued trying to placate Ginger. I knew it was to make the backlash of emotion she felt less potent but in the situation the other woman thought she was in it would take a lot to calm her. I tuned them out and focused on Long Shadow. His laughing mood had vanished, big surprise there. His gaze was swiveling between Sookie and Ginger. I didn't move. I was behaving as if I was utterly engrossed in the telepath, but I was waiting to see what Long Shadow would do next.

"There's no reason not to let her try," I said with a shrug.

Good thing I was keeping my senses locked on my soon to be ex business partner. When Ginger sat down he lunged for Sookie. He moved so quickly that neither woman had a chance to register the barest hint of surprise until it was over. Sookie leaned back in her seat further away from his fangs and closer into my side. There was nothing left for her to fear. My left hand was still in hers but my right hand had reached neatly across her body and was wrapped around Long Shadow's lying throat. On impact I was sure to crush all the bones I touched so he posed no threat to her. He hung like a limp doll in my grasp.

"Ginger," I said evenly "Stop screaming." Her mouth clamped shut instantly but there was a low continuous whimper that was escaping. That was even more annoying it was high pitched like a dogs whine. "Shall I glamour you then?"

"Ye…yes, please."

One of the things I liked about Ginger she didn't want to know anything that wasn't good for her peace of mind. I turned to her and held her eyes. Less than a minute later she took off to stock the bar with a smile on her face, pep in her step, and whistling Dixie.

I was walking Sookie out of the bar and I dragging Long Shadow along with me. My hand was still around his neck. I was exerting too much pressure for the bones to heal but he was now somewhat cognizant. We were going to have a long, long talk, one that involved my cutting and him bleeding. Right now I had business to conclude.

"Reach into my pocket lover." Sookie gave me a baleful look at that request. I grinned. "The back pocket." Stepping around the limp form of the vampire, she did as I asked. "For services rendered."

"Oh, thanks." She didn't even look at the thousand dollar check. She just slipped in into her purse. This woman either placed no value on money which was impossible, or she had more than enough. That too was not possible. She probably just hadn't expected it, I concluded.

"Let me know if you find anything on the other case."

She nodded, "Yeah, I will. Um…good night or good day or whatever."

I leaned in and kissed her cheek chastely, lingering to breathe in the sweet scent of her, "Good night."


	5. Tempting The Beast

**Chapter Five**

There had been no leads thus far in finding Mickey. The worst was assumed. It was confirmed when word from Ariel, Mickey's maker, reached me. She had been distressed by the loss of her youngest child. That was why I was meeting with a contact of mine, Chow. He was a Japanese vampire looking to make his way into my chain of command. I've been making him prove it by keeping his ears open for information I could use. He was getting what he wanted because Long Shadow didn't make it out of my vermin hole and so I was in need of a bartender. He could work his way up from there. Chow's location of choice this evening was a strip club on the outskirts of Monroe. Pam accompanied me. While I was certain this meeting would go without any trouble, having an extra pair of eyes was never a bad thing. Also, she had spearheaded the search for Mickey.

Tuesday at 'The Fox Hole' was amateur night. The music was awful, the patrons were worse. The club was packed with people inhaling alcohol until they found the courage to scar us all with their shitty display of erotica. I wanted to poke my eyes out. In this hovel I noticed the telepath the second her face appeared in the crowd. She seemed to have come from a back room or maybe be the rest rooms. The expression on her face was calm but her eyes were darting about like a person in trouble.

"What is she doing here?" Pam asked. I was just as baffled by her appearance. I wouldn't presume she had business here. Nothing about what I knew of her would explain why she was alone in a strip club this far from home.

I shrugged my shoulders and stood, "Let's go find out." I headed in her direction out of sheer curiosity. Sookie was looking behind her back and walked into me. I held her elbow to steady her. There was a smile on my face. She looked shocked but relieved to see a familiar face that could be possibly be helpful in whatever bind she was in.

"Oh, hi Eric, nice to see you again. Hi, Pam." She greeted us with a bright smile and a cheerful wave.

"Hello lover, fancy meeting you here," I said with a knowing smile. She flushed but her eyes were fixed on the door.

"Ah yeah, well so sorry I can't stay and chat." She tried to slip between us and continue her path to the door. I tightened my hold on her arm. Behind her two men searched the room with their eyes. They settled on Sookie even though her back was turned. She stiffened under my touch.

"Tell me what kind of trouble you are in and I might be able to help." Her eyes went to the hold I had on her and I knew she was thinking of making a break for it. I chuckled; she would be liable to leave the appendage behind.

"Can't I get a pass on the explanation?" she asked.

I shook my head. Such a thing would be completely reckless on my part. There was no sense in picking a fight if you weren't sure you would win. Doing that for her was not something I had on the agenda for the evening. Plus she didn't ask me nicely, not that it would have made a difference. It simply would have been lovely to hear.

"Fine then, let me go," she hissed.

I couldn't believe she said that. Not for one second did I think she was in so big a bind that I could honestly not help. Those men looked human enough. She was refusing my help because it came with a stipulation. I had to set the tone for our association. This would be her first lesson. I did not bluff. I released her and stepped to the side. She spurned my help and I would leave her to the consequences. I wouldn't allow them to kill her or harm her too badly but I would make sure my point got across.

Our conversation had cost her a few precious seconds and she was not going to make it to the door. If she managed to do that, she would never make it to her car. She knew that. She stood in the middle of the walkway and I could almost see her fan out her sixth sense because I knew what to look for. Her shoulders were hunched in defensively as her mind was bombarded with so many thoughts. I had no idea what she was looking for. She was not likely to find a hero amongst the bunch of drunken vermin.

Pam and I moved to a quiet corner and watched her makeshift rescue plan unfurl. Sookie's eyes went to a group of sailors at the front of the bar. Like most men who saw her, the table of sailors stared. She walked right into the arms of a young man. He was tall, well-built, and a bit more sober that the rest. He wasn't much to look at, at least in my opinion. Yet she buried her head in his chest and wrapped her arms around his neck like he was a long lost friend. He looked stunned and momentarily dazed, but returned her embrace all the same.

The proximity would indicate she knew them, and well. I had to applaud her ingenuity. The men pursuing interpreted this exactly the way she wanted. They hesitated unsure how to proceed. There were six sailors and only three of them. If they had back up, now would be the time to call them in. I doubted it. They also didn't want to make a scene and fighting six sailors would cause just that. I have had my run in with the likes of them coming into my bar to test their bravado. Losing really wasn't an option for them either. It took glamour to calm them once they had gotten started.

Sookie pulled away but I could no longer see her face and I could not hear what was being said. Her new friend smiled down at her but her posture did not suggest seduction or duress, embarrassment perhaps. I wasn't sure what would happen next.

"So who's next?" The DJ called. The room exploded in cheers and applauses as less drunken idiots encouraged their fully inebriated friends. "Come on ladies don't be shy!"

Sookie put her hands up and waved. My eyes widened almost as much as that of the sailors.

"My, my now this is getting interesting," Pam drawled. I did not have a response to give her.

Before she got on stage Sookie turned and winked at the sailor she'd hugged. He looked completely bemused. She beckoned him to her with her index finger and he moved like a dog on leash. She took his hand and whispered in his ear. I did not know what she said but the look on his face was just short of rapturous. He nodded and followed her on stage. His friends were cheering and hooting as loudly as I thought humanly possible.

"That's what I'm taking about!" The DJ said, clapping his hands in approval. "A lovely couple. Now all you ladies take a notes 'cuz this here's how you keep a man!" The room exploded in applause and whistles.

The lucky man was given a chair on stage. The lights dimmed and the music of Sookie's choosing came on and I had to smile at the title: _'She's My Cherry Pie.'_ I never had pie but I know sex when I hear it and the title of that song is most misleading. It screamed "Fuck Me." Sookie danced to it. Her movements were flirty and sultry, nothing about it was overdone: it appeared effortless. Her sweater was the first item of clothing to be shed. It peeled off her shoulders ever so slowly.

_"…She wanted me to feed her._

_So I mixed up the batter,_

_And she licked the beater"_

I feel there is no need for me to explain that no one is "mixing batter" (it will, however, be my new sexual innuendo). The lyrics coupled with Sookie's performance were going to make this song a favorite of mine. She had fire in her hips. Her hair had been let out of its pony tail and it swung carelessly about her face as she danced.

I was curious and eager to see how far she was going to take this. Under her sweater was a dress. She turned her back to the crowd while resting her hands on the thighs of her partner. She leaned in close to his ear and whispered something. With the noise, it was impossible for me to hear what sweetness she whispered to him. It was useless to wonder because I soon found out.

_"…I scream, you scream,_

_We all scream for her._

_Don't even try cause,_

_You can't ignore her"_

Sookie sat on the lap of her partner and with his teeth he dragged down the zipper of her dress. His fingers dragged slowly up her arm and pulled down the thin straps of her dress. Her head was against his shoulder as he did this and her body still moved against him. Sookie now stood in front of the room in nothing but pink and white panties and matching bra and black high heels. With that she had taken control of every soul in the room. Had I thought she was sexy with clothes on? I had been vastly mistaken. A body like hers should never be covered.

_"…Swingin' to the drums,_

_Swingin' to guitar._

_Swingin' to the bass,_

_In the back of my car"_

…And she swung; her hips; her hair; her legs around her partner. I was sure she could pull the devil himself out of the holiest of men. My fangs were running out, let's face it I was nowhere near holy. The lovely telepath wound her sinewy frame like an energetic vine ascending the surface of a modest edifice. Her movements weren't overly suggestive or sexual. It was ensnaring, captivating: it drew you into her other features that would have been innocent if not for her raw sensual power. Her lips, the elegant curve of her calf, the impish smile on her lips, it all made you want more. It went deeper than her semi nudity. The way she moved, it made you want to know her, please her, and keep her with you always. She was incredible to watch.

As she danced she seemed lost in the music but I knew by no means had she forgotten about the three men waiting for an opening. Whatever else this was, it was an escape tactic first and foremost. All the men were now keeping time with the twists and twirls of her waist. I was man enough to be one of them. It was especially true for her supposed partner. She circled his chair with her hands lightly dragging across his shoulders and he followed her helplessly with his eyes. There was a moment where she faced him and lightly dragged her lips across his. This really wasn't fair to him. I was sure she was going to keep him awake at night with this.

_"…She's my cherry pie,_

_Cool drink of water, such a sweet surprise._

_Tastes so good, make a grown man cry,_

_Sweet cherry pie…"_

I feel compelled to say the artist wasn't talking about water, but I digress. At this point the crowd sang when the chorus came on. The sexual charge in the air was almost palpable. I was not exempt. It usually took more than a visual stimulus to have my body raging. But the gears in my head had shifted and I was rock hard.

Right now Sookie was crouched between the legs of the sailor that I was sure would ask her hand in marriage. Her arms were resting on his thighs. Her head was thrown back and her hair was dragging slowly down his chest and the look on her face was...sensual; like a woman begging and aching to be ravaged. He closed his eyes and bit his bottom lip with his head thrown back. She rolled and wound her body in the most passionate way to her full height, running her hands through her hair as she righted herself just as the last of the tunes faded.

The song ended and there was complete silence for one heartbeat. Then the room erupted into thunderous applause.

"Call the fire department! Turn on the sprinklers in this motherfucker. She just set the stage on fire!" the DJ said, fanning himself for effect. He was looking at Sookie in awe. She somehow managed to look embarrassed at having practically given the entire room an orgasm. I had no idea how she could be so sexy and not fully embrace it.

Sookie's pretend boyfriend stood and pulled her dress on and zipped it. Then he held the sweater she had thrown over his face open for her to wear. She hugged him and even kissed his cheek. They left the stage hand in hand. If I didn't know better I would believe they were a happy, adventurous couple that would have wild sex once they left here.

She returned to the table with him and sat with his friends who greeted them with high fives and more hollering. Sookie talked to them all but stuck very close to her new friend. He put his arm around her and she held onto it. I began to wonder if she hadn't come with them in the first place. They appeared very familiar and comfortable with one another.

I knew she knew full well that I too had seen her performance. Yet, not once did she glance my way while on stage or while she was with her whatever the hell the sailor was to her. She had found her own way without my help. I wondered why that irritated me. I wanted to watch and see how this was going to play out but the people I was here to meet with had arrived. Pam and I left. I had business to attend to. Already I was looking forward to commending the telepath on her performance.

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Come on...all you readers, review it'll help me attract more readers and I want to spread the love... Wait...That didn't come out right :0

Anyway you know what I mean so just review! :)


	6. All Work No Play

**Chapter Six**

During my meeting in Monroe I got no leads on Mickey. It did, however, come to my attention that Compton was going to cause me indigestion yet again. He just returned from the safe house. I didn't think he had any business causing me trouble as he was one of the newest vampires on my turf. I didn't have a previous opinion on him before but now…well now I wished his dilapidated tin cup of a family home had been built elsewhere.

This time he had attracted three vampires. This situation wouldn't be as messy as the previous occasion with his maker. It wouldn't involve any travel. Hopefully I wouldn't have to stake anyone either. I couldn't be too sure on the score. Malcom, Liam, and Diane are slightly more homicidal that the average everyday vampire. They've been that way since before the reveal. Common sense would dictate they tone it down since we were out in the open now. Not so much, they still killed conspicuously and didn't really clean up after themselves. Point is, I didn't want them in Area Five. Since they technically hadn't done anything in my area to have passage denied I couldn't do much. Rules suck.

That was why I was here to see Bill. He'd nested with the psycho trio once upon a time. They would stay with him while they visited. Too bad for them Bill was currently serving his sentence of solitude. No guests could stay the day with him. It was his punishment for being a pain in my ass. It would also solve my problem. I couldn't specify who he couldn't have over but I could impose it long enough for Malcom and his gang to move on.

Being so close, I couldn't resist the temptation to see Sookie. I wanted some answers and quite possibly a private show. What was she doing in that club? I knew it had something to do with missing cub from the local Were panther clan. I wanted the details. How deep was her affiliation with them? It would appear that I wasn't the only one making use of her ability. That was why she didn't charge me. She wasn't charging Calvin Norris and his people either. She used her ability for good, not for personal gain.

On my way across the cemetery to see Compton, I heard her voice. She was still some ways away and she was not alone. I took a seat on a porch swing to wait. Ugh. Humans took so long to get from place to place. If there was an expiration date stamped on my backside I would be inclined to move just a bit faster. But a few minutes later Sookie came walking up the drive way of her house with a man and a dog. She was dressed simply in a pair of sweats and a t-shirt. If I had to guess I would say they'd gone for a walk.

Sookie frowned slightly when she saw me. Classic dominance standoff, the dog barked and growled, I glowered and hissed in return. It whined and fell silent. Animals had the good sense to avoid vampires or sound the alarm whenever one of us was near. It was irritating.

The man remained where he was because his dog would go no further. It kept whining and inching ever backwards. Bitch.

"Good evening," I said.

"Hey Eric," Sookie said in a less then warm voice. "Terry this Eric, Eric, meet my roommate, Terry."

Roommate, when did that happen? Then again the first night I came here I assumed she was cleaning but she might have been making room for him in her home. I wasn't keeping as tight a leash on my new asset as I should, it seemed. Wouldn't having a roommate be too much for her mentally? For that matter how had she withstood having the sailor touch her? But perhaps her shields were strong enough.

One look at Terry told me he was wound too tight. By that I meant the look in his eyes said, 'At any moment I could be that guy that killed everybody in my office because someone took my stapler.' This was her roommate. She must enjoy living on the wild side. Yet, she never struck me as an adrenaline junkie. Judging by where she lived, she liked to be left alone.

I nodded at Terry and he nodded at me reluctantly. It had nothing to do with my fangs. His dog disliked me and so he felt he had to. Honestly being a vampire was difficult; critics everywhere. Lucky for me I could kill them all if the mood struck me.

"So Eric, what's up?" Sookie asked, having had enough of the pleasantries.

"I came to speak with you," I said coolly. She knew there was no getting around it and so her frown deepened. I smirked.

"I'll leave," her roommate whispered to her. "If you want."

Sookie shook her head. "We'll walk and talk you can go on inside. I know she's hungry," she inclined her head to the dog.

I stood and glided past the pair so they could enter the house in peace. Sookie had no intention of going anywhere; she got to the point once they were in the house.

"Do you have more work for me?" she asked.

We were engaged in a power struggle it seemed. Knowing she would lose didn't keep her from arguing. Her not conforming to my terms at the strip club was a victory of sorts. I walked ahead, forcing her to follow. She groaned and muttered a curse. I chuckled under my breath. I walked towards the cemetery simply to see if she would follow; she did. Her intelligence wasn't debatable. She was smart, quick in fact. Willingly following a vampire into a cemetery made me question her general desire to live. Who does that? I voiced the question.

"What is this? Survival 101?" she asked dryly. I ignored her sarcasm and waited for her to answer. "If you wanted to kill me you're going to find a way. Coming here just spares you some heavy lifting," she said with a sardonic smile. I would not have thought of her as having a dark sense of humor but that assessment was very true. I smiled and leaned against a tree. She perched on a fallen one.

"What do you want Eric?" she sounded curious instead of annoyed. I wondered what had brought on the change in attitude. I made a guess to see to test my knowledge of her.

"You like it here don't you?" I said waving to the headstones around us. Some were cracked and others were covered in moss. I can only imagine the reaction of another human woman in the same location at this time of night with the present company.

She nodded. "I like quiet." Several seconds ticked by in silence and she didn't squirm or jump at any noises in the night like an average human.

"You know your roommate is a ticking time bomb, right?" I said changing the topic. I felt she knew this but I still thought it an important issue to address. She would have to be on her guard as not to confuse her box of cereal with his. That could be disastrous.

"Terry is the nicest person I've ever known. He wouldn't hurt a fly and he's a great cook. Most importantly he doesn't think I'm crazy."

I understood their relationship better after that rant of hers. He was crazy and because of her ability, people thought she was as well. They had to stick together. Oddly enough her overly defensive reply didn't surprise me. She had a blatant honesty and devout loyalty to those whom she considered friends.

"What does he think of your boyfriend cherry pie?" I asked with a smirk. It gave me satisfaction to see her face turn bright red. She appeared completely mortified that I had brought it up, as if I could ever forget such a display of mass seduction.

"Inspiration in desperation," she said. "Alvin was nice enough to help, unlike a vampire I know." she cut me an unfriendly sideways glance.

"I merely asked an explanation in return for my assistance," I reminded her.

She shook her head. "No, you said, 'tell me what kind of trouble you're in and I might be able to help' I didn't have time for maybes." I rolled my eyes at her being hung up on a technicality. She had refused to tell me simply because I had demanded it of her.

"I did not allow Long Shadow to harm you," I told her. "I would not have let them to do so either."

She shrugged. "That's not what you said and you were very clear that the protection you offered was only active while on assignments for you. That night I wasn't."

I looked at her wondering if she was serious. She wasn't afraid of me. In fact she was not afraid of vampires. Pam said she'd gotten into her car and made polite conversation but was chary of boundaries that most humans weren't. She knew to respect us and mind herself around us but there was no fear. After our accord she should have allotted me some amount of trust, enough trust to safely assume I would not sit back and let three men drag her off to whatever end. If for no other reason, I would preserve her for the sake of her ability.

I looked at her and I saw there was no such trust. Her earlier words that I had taken as joke were not. She was here in resignation of the fact that truly if I desired to kill her I would indeed find a way. It was true, very true. That conclusion brought with it frustration and irritation. Every new thing I learned about her was putting me more and more out of my comfort zone.

Admittedly the image I created had been a generic typecast of all stubborn human women who thought themselves special. Of course the enigma of her personality was built on a balloon of growing sexual frustration. I sighed. It was unheard of for me to expend so much energy trying to understand anyone; a human especially. To think, all I wanted was a few rounds of hot nasty sex and here she forcing me to actually learn things about her. Un-freaking-believable. The fact remained, if I didn't know more about her, she wouldn't give me wanted I wanted. I would have to change tactics.

"You are truly peculiar aren't you?" I finally admitted.

She laughed but it held no amusement. I waited impatiently for her to enlighten me. "I wouldn't have to work if I got a nickel for every time I heard that." She always misunderstood me, that was another problem we had. That and she wouldn't sleep with me.

"Peculiar is not a bad thing; not to me or vampires essentially," I explained. "For the most part the human race is faceless and nameless sea of monotony. Peculiar is the spice of our life." She smiled at my analogy. "Peculiar is good." In her packaging, peculiar was fucking great.

* * *

My chosen companion for the evening was behind me, following me into my office. She was the most appealing of the bunch this evening. She didn't smoke. She hadn't had anything to drink. She smelled okay. The experienced fangbangers knew how to care for their body's to entice a vampire. They didn't smoke, drink or do drugs. They ate fruits almost exclusively and didn't wear perfumes. She didn't win by a large margin. It was her or that synthetic garbage. She won by default. I was also sexually frustrated. She looked as though she could take what I had to dish out. Her heart was beating rapidly and it lulled me. There was nothing like the brief moments before a blood hunger was sated.

It was why sex almost always ended in a vampire biting. The flow of the life blood was almost frantic. It was hard to explain. It was like being tuned so deeply to a single beat of a song. With every drum the pitch in me rang tighter. That thrum was evident in air, so was her excitement. One look at her told me she'd done this before. It was in the submissive stance. She wouldn't raise her head to meet my eyes. Instead she brushed her coppery hair to one side offering her neck to me. I sighed for the old days. The willingness of the humans diminished part of the pleasure of feeding. The thrill of the chase was half the fun but I was sure I could find some enjoyment.

I didn't know her name but it didn't matter. I stalked towards her, slowly purposefully. Her body tensed in anticipation of the pain as I leaned in closer. It didn't come. I kissed the base of her neck where the flow of blood was most visible.

"Take off your clothes" not that she was wearing much. She moved quickly and was naked before me in under thirty seconds.

Truth be told she was attractive were I really seeing her, which I wasn't. She did have the necessary tools to ease my tension and feed me. Sex with a vampire was a mind blowing experience. Sex with me was phenomenal. This was not my own assessment. I have been told on more than a few occasions.

"Get on your knees" She complied almost immediately and kept her head bowed. My finger stroked her cheek and I tipped her face up. "Do you like it rough?"

"Yes, master"

"Good"

When I was finished with her she got dressed and left. I liked partners like her. She knew the bottom line of our act; I needed to feed and fuck. She knew there was nothing more than that. It saved me the trouble of using glamour to erase the experience. You wouldn't believe some of the ridiculous notions of some the women I had laid with. Monogamy was the most frequent. That wasn't something I did when I was human. Add centuries of conquests and endless stamina and the idea was laughable.

As the nameless woman opened the door to exit my office I saw Sookie. Had I not been so preoccupied, her scent would have pierced the haze in my mind. A part of my senses did recognize her aroma. It might have been what made this encounter so enjoyable. The woman exiting spared Sookie a calculating look and there was no doubt she was sizing up what she deemed competition. Someone should really tell her she was eons out of her league.

Sookie didn't look up but the telltale blush on her face told me she had gotten more than she cared to from the other female. Once I saw Sookie I saw the one sex partner I wanted most at the moment. It felt like I hadn't just fed or had sex as rough as humanly possible. My body wanted hers. I watched her but there were no signs of jealousy. That would have been to my advantage. Jealousy, like turbulent emotions, made humans impulsive.

To my surprise Sookie entered the office once she was able and closed the door behind her. I arched a brow in question. I wouldn't have thought she would enter my space while I was shirtless, with my hair wild from a bout of ravenous love making.

"Do you need a minute?" she asked, looking down at her feet.

"No," I replied finding my shirt. "I wasn't expecting you," and Pam shouldn't sent her back either. It wasn't that I cared in the least. I knew that she did. This would undoubtedly set me back in my pursuits. That woman hadn't been worth it.

"I'm here because I did what you asked," she leaned against the door with her arms folded across her chest. I could recognize defensive body language when I saw it. She didn't want any of my usual charm. She wouldn't get it. "And you, Sheriff, have a problem."


	7. Unawares

**That last chapter technically doesn't count as a cliffy because there was no wait involved. I have learned readers frown upon that kind of thing so I'll be good about it. Of course it means hanging on to chapters so I can release them together. I am curious as to what the majority prefer! Review to tell me your preferences, thoughts and feelings of the story so far!**

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**Chapter Seven**

I arched a brow, "The drainers?" I asked, not really believing it.

Her first assignments were drainers and V users. They would be the constant ones that she was to remain on the lookout for. I wanted her to listen for anyone who might have been involved in Mickey's disappearance, or with any vampires that were listed as missing. Whoever had done the deed wasn't stupid and it told me this wasn't their first job. Their success would embolden them and I would have a bigger problem later. It was my intention to nip it in the bud. With Sookie working where I couldn't, I had hoped for results months down the line, not days. I assumed she wouldn't find much. I just wanted to test the range of her telepathy and her determination to keep to her end of our bargain. Surely there was no way she'd so quickly solved a case that had left Pam and several others at a dead end.

She nodded. "The Rattrays." She couldn't repress the shudder that ran through her. "They make Chucky look like Barney."

"Tell me exactly how you found them out."

"They came into the bar where I work. They were gearing up to go on another hunting trip. I knew where they lived and drove by their house to listen."

That didn't answer my question about her range fully but I got more pertinent information. "Tell me everything you found as it pertains to this matter."

Her teeth went to worry her bottom lip and I recognized it instantly as a sign of duress. I waited patiently, knowing that whatever she said would make me want to kill these cretins.

"Remember our deal. No killing," she said.

Yeah. With that preamble I knew I was going to want to crush some skulls after hearing whatever she said next. My face gave nothing away and I nodded my assent with an ease I didn't feel.

"They're not two bit dealers, they're suppliers. The system they've got going," she shook her head as if baffled, "It's all over the south and there are networks leading all through the nation. Normally they never hunt here, but a client of theirs needed V badly and was willing to pay double. They made this Mickey tell them about all the vampire homes he knew of. The addresses that were outside their usual hunting ground, they relayed to other dealers and suppliers in their network."

"Specifics," I said. I needed to know how severe the damage was. There was a prickling in the back of my neck that told me it was monumental. "Addresses and any names of these other drainers, dealers and their intended victims."

Instead of giving me a rendition Sookie reached in her purse and pulled out a little pink note book. After the reading the first page I knew I had a big fucking problem. The five by seven page was filled with names, aliases, and even phone numbers of vampires in my area. The couple that resided in my area, Denise and Mack Rattray, were high on the totem pole because what Sookie found in their minds alone covered fifty pages.

There were addresses and phone numbers of V processing labs where vampire blood was mixed with other narcotics. She uncovered delivery schedules, safe houses, passwords, and a place where drainers bought their supplies. For fuck sakes there was a training academy that was covered under Fellowship of The Sun or FoTS. It was a church, more of a cult, really, that focused all its doctrines on hating vampires. Several pages were covered in roughly sketched diagrams of how the network of drainers communicated and hunted. That was why they just kept popping up like flies. Catching a dealer was like pissing on a roaring flame to put it out. The suppliers were there in the shadows.

The first fifty-three pages were bad news, but it was the last thirty that blew me away. From beyond the veil, Mickey had screwed me royally. Instead of dying alone he'd risked taking a lot of people with him. The asshole. He certainly didn't spare anyone else in my area a thought. That wasn't a surprise. I wouldn't have thought he'd sellout his own maker, but he had. Ariel's name was there in black and white. He'd given up all her safe houses and those of her closest guards as well as other vampires he knew in her regime. That would have been detrimental enough but he'd given up names of sires and their changelings. With that information the drainers would know to target the younger of the two. It didn't stop with Louisiana and Florida, Ariel's kingdom. There were so many monarchs, so many names, safe houses, favorite hangouts, and even some names of human pets belonging to vampires. No one Mickey had met since he was one day old was safe.

It was easy to be angry with Mickey, but I couldn't imagine what they must have done to him to make him squeal the way he did. With every torture laced interrogation there came a point where even the strongest broke. At that point there would be no more desire to fight, no will to live. Freedom from captivity was no longer the objective. It was at that point that the subject said whatever, did whatever in the hopes of just making the pain end. There had only been an interim of three days from when his human reported him missing and when his maker reported him finally dead. The fact that they could bring him to that brink so swiftly spoke volumes. I couldn't fathom how many others they'd broken. I couldn't even begin to think of how to even beginning circumventing the damage. It was too great.

"You can hold me to my word," I said looking at her. "But you must know, I cannot contain all of this." She hadn't been exaggerating when she said it was all over the nation. The network was so deep and so tall that I couldn't believe this was the first I was hearing of it.

She nodded "I know. You can't control what other people do," her eyes were downcast. The guilt was rolling off her in waves.

I didn't want her to beat herself up over something that wasn't her doing. "This is not your sin but theirs," I said going to lift her chin. These humans had made their choices and soon they would pay the piper and he would collect in full. I ran my thumb over her cheeks and her warm fragrant scent engulfed me in full. I leaned in and buried my face in her hair. It felt so lush I purred my contentment. My grip traced down her arm to take her hand in mine and I pressed my body even closer until her breasts were against my chest.

"I could make you feel better," I hummed, moving my lips a breath away from hers. She couldn't repress the shiver of pleasure that coursed through her. The scent of her arousal swirled in the air, winding around me. "Let me make you forget everything but me."

She sighed and moved away. I sighed internally, it was worth a try. Emotional duress sometimes caused humans to give into their baser urges. I wasn't so lucky that Sookie would be the impulsive type. Damned shame that.

"How long are you gonna keep carrying that tune?" She said folding her arms across her chest defensively. I was pleasantly surprised she didn't mention the woman that just fed me not too long ago.

"Until you give me what I desire," I was touching her again. My fingers were tucking a wayward strand of hair from her face. "It is what we both desire," I said moving in close again. "I know you want me."

"I also want to eat a dozen chocolate glazed cinnamon buns a day," she said with a snort. She deftly slipped from my hold. "But I don't."

"You are saying I'm delicious," I quipped with a wolfish grin. "You know there is only one way to find out," I wagged my eyebrows.

"I'm saying I care more about what's best for my health and you Eric Northman aren't it!" With that cool retort, she waltzed out the door.

Truly, watching her walk away in fitted denim cut offs and sneakers was a sight. I let her go because I knew I would be seeing her back here in a few days when I could summon the other sheriffs and inform them of our problem. The information would come free of charge to those with Louisiana. Those from other states had to pay. It was just the way of things. The information I was providing them with was of great value.

Holding onto my advantages was only acceptable as long as it didn't conflict with my oath of fealty. I settled into my office and made a call to Sophie-Anne. I was telling about the telepath a lot sooner than I'd anticipated but it couldn't be helped. Also when all the sheriffs came together for a meeting at my bar, she wouldn't suspect anything-much.

"This is Northman," I said cutting off the secretary's greeting. "I have an urgent message for Her Majesty."

"Please hold, Sheriff."

There were several clicks but I was spared the classical music before André came on the line. "Eric."

"André," I really didn't like him. He out ranked me so I had to show him the respect that came with his position as the state's second in command. "There is a newly discovered asset in my area, a telepath."

Whatever he thought I was going to say, it wasn't that. The news was also deemed important enough for the Queen to take hold of the phone herself. It was almost always a sure thing that wherever André was Sophie-Anne would be. He was her personal body guard. I knew she'd been in the room listening to the call but it was nice of her to get off her ass all the same.

"You are certain of this?" she asked.

No. I liked to make things up and waste her time with it. "Yes. Twice I have put her to the test and twice she has exceeded my best expectations."

"I do not suppose you will relinquish her for a handsome finder's fee."

She supposed correctly "No." I made my voice firm while maintaining all the propriety of a subject speaking to his regent. I found Sookie on my turf. Yes it was an area she appointed to me but it's responsibilities were mine as were things of value within it. She couldn't force the issue once I'd refused. The best she could do was entice Sookie directly. I knew if she went that route she wouldn't be successful. "There is another matter of grave importance. Do you have access to a fax machine?" While I sent that through I told her what I knew so far including my idea of meeting with all the other sheriffs. It was the logical thing. We could sit and discuss anyone of theirs that had been missing and compare notes.

I knew the second Sophie-Anne got the fax because André was back on the phone. I could almost imagine him hiding the queen behind his back "Neutralize the threat to your queen." That was a direct order. His tone could give a glacier frost bite. It rolled right off my back because this was normal for André. He would fight the sun in the name of his maker for no other reason than because it rose like it should. "I will see you at this meeting to question the telepath for myself."

I got off the phone and ran my hand over my face. It was just only two in the morning but I felt weary as if the sun was on the horizon. That didn't matter. I had two hours to kill two people and make it look like an accident.


	8. Hot and Cold

Hey all! Thanks for all the continued love and support! Keep them coming. I hope you all had as much reading this chapter as i did writing it! Another big thanks to my Beta who has eagle eyes to complement my blundering hands!

**Chapter Eight**

Violating my terms was one of the out clauses of Sookie's service to me, there were two. The first was my 'fragrantly, willfully, callously and maliciously failing to safeguard her' while on the job. I had used all those adjective because that had more of a grey area. We concluded that I couldn't fight everything, like the sun. I didn't want her to be able to try to get away because of an accident that I couldn't prevent or control. The second out clause was murder. It was pretty straight forward and there had been no negotiations.

After all she'd uncovered about the drainer network, I knew while every other sheriff got to kill their perpetrators, I would have to turn mine over to the police. I had been ready to accept that no matter how disgusted it made me. I had given her my word and would keep it unless it would harm me to do so.

Killing the Rattrays would directly violate the agreement I had with Sookie, but it had been a direct order. It was not something I could ignore. The agreement slowed my hand. I would kill them and the telepath would know, no matter how convincing I made the accident. With André set to come to town I didn't want us on the outs, lest he entice her to the royal court. It left me in a position that I wasn't familiar with. I decided to go the direct route. She would appreciate my honesty if nothing else.

I showed up at her home and she was dressed like a cross between a day laborer and a masked bandit. Her curvy form was draped in coveralls that no responsible store clerk should have sold her, and the lower half of her face was covered with a bandana; her hair was tired back with another.

"What in the world are you doing?" I winced and moved back a few paces to put myself downwind. "What is that god awful smell?" The smell of chemicals was pouring off her back porch. It wasn't paint, it was something sharper. It was enough to almost make my eyes water. It polluted and clouded her scent entirely.

"Hey Eric," she greeted.

"Evenin,'" Terry said.

I nodded at him, registering immediately that something was different. The last time I saw him was a mere week ago. He had looked like someone holding on to their sanity by a sliver and a prayer. Now he appeared normal. Whatever had him in a vise had loosened its hold. The constant waves of tension and nervous ticks were gone. The manic edge to his eyes was also gone. It made me wonder about their relationship. I looked at Terry closer to examine his physical appeal. and found him lackluster and unappealing. He was older than Sookie though not by much, between five and seven years was my guess. He was average height and build for a full grown human male of his time. His brown hair was short and his beard was sported a well trimmed. He was no lover of hers.

The memory of her stripping on stage was not something I would soon forget. She'd proved that she could touch a human man. Perhaps if the emotions weren't too intense and her mental shields were fully engaged, she could take a lover. Not likely. Sex meant giving into carnal urges. The brain had little function there. Also, a lover would take issue with my continued unexpected and increasingly frequent visits. Nothing about their body language suggested they were more than friends.

"Give me a minute,"

She sounded so enthused and pleased with herself that I had to shake my head. This was woman was just plain odd. I looked and saw that the porch was brand new. It was so well done that it didn't look as though it belonged attached to the rest of the home. I was pleased that she was taking the money she earned to upgrade her abode. It still nagged at me that she gave away her inheritance while she went without. Well, at least she was in a good mood. Once she heard what I had to say I knew she would be less than pleased.

In addition to the poisonous vapors coming from the porch there was traces of the two-natured. It wasn't the shifter, Sam. It was wilder. Her builders had been two-natured and I would bet it had been the panthers who she'd helped with their missing cub. Moving to the front of her house I saw that that porch had also been redone. So, she didn't charge money but she accepted services. I wondered if that was because they couldn't pay her and she demanded it or if they had done this to show gratitude. It wouldn't make a difference in me paying her. It would just satisfy a point of curiosity.

"We're just about done," Terry said. "Would you like to come in and wait?"

Behind his back, Sookie looked as if she wanted to protest but she didn't. I smiled pointedly in her direction, "Why yes, yes I would."

She groaned under her breath but I didn't think the noise carried to Terry's ears. "Use the front door, its open," she said, resigned.

If the two human's relationship was weird I didn't even know how to begin explaining that of the cat and the dog in the home. They were corralled in the laundry room adjacent to the kitchen, presumably to keep them out of the way and they were cuddling. I know I probably had no business throwing stones but that was plain unnatural. Sensing my presence the dog barked, the cat hissed, and I growled to shut them both up. From the porch I heard Sookie chuckle.

The kitchen was a snapshot of the ages. There was a state of the art coffee machine juxtaposed with the oven looked older than both inhabitants combined. The air was clouded with the scent of shifters, by how fresh it was I knew they had gone just before dark to avoid any vampires they smelled. There was an understanding amongst all creatures of the supernatural. We stuck to our own kind and mixed only when it was absolutely necessary. It wasn't a debased human segregation where you had to be a certain color, or worship a special God. It was an animal thing. We were all, in one way or another predators to the humans and predators were always on uneasy around each other.

I was still coordinating with the sheriffs as well as my own subjects so it gave me something to do as I waited in the kitchen. Sookie appeared twenty minutes later, freshly showered and in normal clothes. Never had a t-shirt and sweat pants looked so good.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, I wasn't expecting you."

I couldn't say whether or not she meant the apology or if she was just too polite to not apologize. It didn't matter because I received an invite inside, "Your roommate seems better."

She stilled in the middle of claiming her seat and arched a dubious brow, "You noticed."

"Of course, it is my business to know your business and that includes the people you keep close," I shrugged without looking up from my phone. "Like the fact that you were at the strip club only to help return a child back to the clan of panthers from Hot Shot," Chow was able to get me details. One of the females from the pack had picked up a serious coke habit and turned into a prostitute to support said habit. She had refused to return the child to the pack, knowing full well she was unable to care for her. "I also know they were just here and did the work on your home as payment."

There was something on the tip of her tongue. Judging by the furious expression on her face, it was going to be peppered with obscenities. Her nostrils flared but her mouth clamped shut as heavy footsteps sounded on the stairs. She pulled in several deep breaths and shot me a withering glower before her roommate walked into the kitchen to join us. He was country chic; cowboy boots and flannel shirt tucked into blue jeans, and a belt buckle the size of his fist. It was like looking at something truly horrific. No matter how many times I saw them, the fashions of this part of the world troubled me greatly.

"What'd ya think?" he asked gruffly.

Burn it all and kill who sold it to you would be my response. Sookie read the expression on my face and strategically placed herself in front of me, blocking my view. Thank heaven.

I could hear the smile on her voice and the true affection in her tone. "You look handsome," she moved closer and rubbed his arm. "Even if you and Kenya don't win at the dance, I'm sure she'll be thrilled just to have you on her arm." The tension in his stance melted and his chest puffed with male pride.

"She's a great dancer. We'll win," he said confidently.

Sookie chuckled, "Good luck and have fun."

He reached out as if to take her hand but caught himself. He patted her shoulder, instead, where there was the barrier of her shirt to mitigate skin to skin contact. The old women I got information from had said she had no close friends. Yet, she appeared very close to Terry. He knew not to touch her bare skin even if he didn't know what she was. It was plutonic but I didn't like not knowing as much as I could.

"Thanks, hon." Then with a parting nod to me, he was out the door.

I was more curious to find out what had brought this on. Sure being around a pretty face made mortal men smile. Hell, I was man enough to smile with Sookie around, but this was different. The change in personality really was jarring. If he didn't smell the same I wouldn't think it was the same person. Was it Sookie or this other woman? For someone that didn't care to learn anything her, I was coming up with a lot of questions. The thing about the thrill of any chase was that it wasn't a thrill until after you caught your prey; everything until that point was frustrating, but part an inevitable part of the dance.

Sookie turned to me and her ire at my earlier statements seemed to be forgotten. She wasn't a grudge holder, which was great for me.

"Would you like a blood?" she asked moving into the kitchen to gather things to make tea.

No, I want you. "Yes, thank you."

While she busied herself with that I returned to my original point. "Living with you agrees with him. It would agree with any male I'm sure"

"You're relentless," she grumbled. If she was waiting for me to deny her accusation she would be disappointed. She groaned knowing the only way around this would be to answer me. "He's been going through a tough time."

I arched a brow in disbelief. "So that is all that is required for you to move a man into your home?" There was kindness and then there was a point when it became detrimental to one's survival. Vampires set that mark well before humans but still there were humans that would call this irresponsible.

"I've known Terry my whole life. He has one of the purest mind and heart I've ever come across. He'd always been sweet to me when I was a kid. Looked out for me after my big brother died," she shrugged her delicate shoulders and poured her cup of tea with deliberate care. "And you know, there are almost seven billion people in the world," her eyes held mine then. "No one should be forced to feel all alone if they don't want to be."

Shadow clouded her lovely features. It told me she was speaking from experience. Her family tree had been reduced to just her. She would know forced solitude. I let the subject go because I didn't want to sour her mood further. I was already going to give her news that she would find less than pleasant.

We remained in silence for a few seconds while I mulled over her complexities. Sookie wasn't just a pretty face. To my immense consternation she wasn't shallow or dumb. My attention and continued advances didn't go to her head. She saw it for what it was, lust and sex and nothing more. Leaving home on her own as early as she had had given her wisdom beyond her years. She'd expected me to treat all women as interchangeable. Clearly that wasn't what she was looking for. That was why seeing me with another woman didn't upset her. She'd expected it.

How could I explain to her that she was right and wrong at the same time? Human women were all the same to me. For the most part, human lovers were viewed with the same casualness by all the undead. With Sookie it was different if only a little. I have never hungered for another woman the way I craved her. That was what set her apart. Long after I'd had her and the experience was forgotten, I would look back in another decade and remember this hunger, this carnal need for her body. But that and her telepathy was all there would be. The woman herself didn't really matter.

Having been forced to learn about her, I knew she had other qualities that were uncommon. I might remember those also. I enjoyed our verbal sparring. Her spirit and wit were admirable. Would that be enough to make her special to me on a personal level? The answer was, no, it wouldn't. For business and political purposes, I wanted her for her ability. For sheer salacious delights, I yearned for her body. That was all there was. Time would steal her beauty and dull her allure. My interests were set to fade with the clock.

"I feel alone," I said. My expression was the saddest I could muster.

She snorted a chuckle, "Get real."

"It is hurtful that you would turn me away because I am vampire," I said in mock reproach.

"Bill's a vampire and comes over all the time. Actually he's related to Terry and the Bellefleurs."

"I did not know that." That explained why he'd come from wherever he was to live here after the reveal.

She nodded sipping her tea, "It's really cool. They traced it through some family bible and Terry's descended from Bill's daughter," a wide smile curved her sensuous lips. "Bill had a crush on my greatgrandmother's greatgrandmother," she chuckled at the memory.

Her eyes shone brighter with her humor, her finger rose absently to tuck that ever wayward strand of hair from her face. I had to admit that I enjoyed her expression. It was beatific and radiated her happiness. I found that I was smiling for no other reason that I was the recipient of it. Her expression faltered and she caught herself,

"Sorry, I know you don't care to hear it."

"I may not care about the subject matter, but I like how exuberant and pleased it made you to relive it."

Her smiled returned but it was a bit sardonic, "From anyone else that would be insulting."

"And from me?"

"It's honest if nothing else."

"While we're on the subject of honesty…," I began.

I told her about André's order to execute the Rattrays. I was sure to explain his position of power and how it out ranked mine. Since I was already the bearer of bad news I decided to tell her about the meeting of the sheriffs. That led to my explaining André's presence and his insistence on meeting her. So, she had to attend as well. She cringed slightly at the thought of being in a room full of vampires but didn't protest. That lasted until I painted André in the proper light. I wanted her to be wary of him. With her afraid there was no way she would willingly go to him no matter what he used to entice her. I may have overplayed my hand in painting him as the villain.

"He can't make me go," she said fiercely, "I won't."

"No, he cannot force you. Vampires are very conscious of rules on ownership," I replied. At the word 'ownership' her eyes narrowed and I received a look that was usually synonymous with death threats. I wasn't intimidated. "Take offense if you will but vampires will view you as property, my property. It is just the way of things." The sooner I established the manner of things the better it would be.

Her eyes were bright burning orbs of sapphire. Her shoulders were squared, and had she been a cat her hackles would have been on end, "You do not own me." Her body was trembling slightly with her impotent fury but every word was spoken with measured breaths, "You never will and neither will André or anyone else. I rescind your invitation," she drew in a ragged breath getting to her feet. "Get. Out!"

Times like these rules were a total bitch. An invitation got a vampire into your home but rescinding it got that vampire out. The pain of having an invitation revoked was second only to the call of a maker.

At Sookie's belligerent words I felt a million tenterhooks fuse into each nerve ending in my body. I was jerked out of my seat. The option to walk or fly was taken from me. I was propelled forward by an invisible hand squeezing my heart. Resisting would be so futile it was almost funny. The front door sprang open on its own accord.

My guess was that the magic that protected mortals within the boundaries of their homes ended at the threshold of their doors and windows. The enchantments were geared to get me as far away as they could while working within those bounds. I was launched out of Sookie's door with so much force that I was sure I would leave here so much worse for wear. What truly sucked was that I wouldn't land on my feet or activate my ability to fly.

Once the telepath spoke those words with me in her home, she had placed me in the hands of a higher power. Magic was a very real thing. In these kinds of circumstances where the power was rooted to the governing of an entire species, it was no joke. None of my powers were functional, even my super senses dimmed. They wouldn't return until I touched terra firma again. When I did, it would hurt-a lot.

I knew that damned driveway of hers was a hazard. My head banged off a beach ball sized pothole. On impact, I heard my skull crack. Blood was pouring from the gash. I could feel the wetness running down the side of my face and ruining my shirt. All the skin on my left arm was gone. My lip was split and bleeding. I was also pretty sure I shouldn't be seeing two moons in the night sky. My left hip was throbbing like I couldn't believe. It had be fractured at the very least.

"Sheriff, I recommend you devise a plan to keep the Rattrays alive. Notwithstanding an order from your lieutenant, if they die, our deal will be null and void," she slammed the door so hard the windows rattled. I had a few choice words for her but speech was beyond me right then. It took a few seconds but I sat and tucked my head between my knees to stop it from spinning.

Note to self: The telepath has an atrocious temper and is clearly prone to overreactions.

* * *

**I had such a great time with this. C'mon we all know he had it coming!**


	9. Holding Steady

**I was thinking of trying out a schedule for updating. I'm thinking, Saturdays and Wednesdays. I have the story worked out to the point where I can predict no major hang ups in writing. **

**While we're on the subject of fixing my hang ups, another great big thanks to my Beta, Rebbeca. t.p. wrecker. You are super awesome. I'm happy to have you but I know the readers are even more so!**

* * *

**Chapter Nine**

"Who used you for a rag doll?" Pam asked fighting a smile.

I sighed internally but it could be worse at least I was no longer limping. She'd known where I'd been. She must have felt the unexpected ass kicking I received and came to my house to make sure I was alright. That was me giving my child the benefit of the doubt. Most likely she came over to be a pain. The physical damage I suffered had faded but I was still brooding. I didn't want to have to deal with her right now. Lesson of the day, you can't always get what you want.

Sookie had done something to me that I wouldn't allow another human to live to tell about. It rankled that she was exempt. I didn't want her to be. I wanted to go back to her house, burn it down, and have her come face me without an ancient incantation at her disposal. I wanted to throw her onto her decrepit driveway so she would know how it felt. Keep a cool head; I kept repeating it over and over.

As I strode past her, Pam slapped my butt and a small dust cloud appeared.

"You look…," she fell to the couch and gripped her sides as fits of laughter assailed her, "…like a big blonde raccoon." More violent fits of laughter. As if I wouldn't get the message, she brought her fists to cover both eyes to mock me. It didn't help that when I pulled off my clothes, bits of gravel tumbled out. She cackled so hard I thought she would choke. To think, someone had confused her for a proper lady at any time in her existence.

"It's not that funny" I snapped pushing past her.

She merely fanned her hand up and down my body as if that said it all. Sure I had a hole in my jeans. Yes, there were twigs in my hair and dirt on my face. My shirt was caked with dry blood. The bruises under my eyes hadn't entirely faded, hence Pam's raccoon reference...okay I looked pretty bad.

"You're an asshole" I muttered.

By the end of my shower I was calmer. I'd taken the time to reflect on the conversation I had with Sookie not to long ago and I came to the conclusion that, perhaps, maybe, quite possibly I might have deserved what I got-just a little. The biggest concern when I decided to tell her about the order to execute the Rattrays was that she wouldn't understand the chain of command I was subject to. The thought of me taking human life because of what she found within their minds was something she was dead set against. She'd reaffirmed the decision. Knowing I didn't share the sentiment hadn't gotten me thrown out though. We'd talked it through.

Once I explained André was my lieutenant and defying him wouldn't save the Rattrays, but result in my punishment, she asked for more time to think of something else. I had agreed because she hadn't used the incident to cry foul and break our agreement. The thought didn't seem to have crossed her mind. She'd seemed to understand if not sympathize with my predicament. Of course that understanding had been thrown out right along with me. What I'd told Sookie was the truth but I could have used more tact. But…damn her she didn't have to let her house and driveway beat me up.

Pam had a blood ready for me once I got downstairs. She'd dumped a quarter of it out and topped it off with her own blood. I appreciated it. A vampire's existence rotated around blood, not just to sate hunger but to heal from injury. The greater the damage the more blood was required to repair it. The hold of the magic alone had taken a lot out of me. Pam's blood would spare me from choking down more of that gunky substitute.

"You know, spousal abuse is…"

"Pam," I said, not having the patience for whatever punch line was to come. She'd left the bar to come here for something more than making fun at me. "Tell me something useful or go away."

"I got our fall wardrobe already on order," she said after a pensive moment.

I threw the cap of my blood at her but she ducked nimbly and was laughing all the way out the door. She was an absolute pain in my ass. While I dressed to follow her to the club I called Bobby to arrange my peace offering to the telepath. It was also a defensive action on my part. That driveway of hers had seen its last days as a weapon.

* * *

Something about Sookie told me she wasn't a grudge holder. I gave her two days to reflect on her brash actions and prepare her apology. That was also as long as it would take for her driveway to be redone. So, if she didn't apologize, her manners wouldn't allow her to not thank me for the gift. The meeting with the other sheriffs was looming and I needed us on the same page.

At six feet four inches, I was a physically imposing figure. When I entered a room I drew attention. My hair was blonde and ended well past my shoulders. My eyes were ice blue, nose aquiline, excellent bone structure, strong jaw, and my lips were perfection. That was just from the neck up. I had a body that only life on a battlefield and physical labor could sculpt; broad shoulders, narrow waist, and ropey muscles were evident from any angle I was admired. Nothing kicked a man in shape like having to hunt his food or wield a broadsword to stay alive.

I wasn't used to having to work to get human women to do what I wanted. That was probably how my charm and romancing skills regressed over the centuries. Since the reveal, forget about it, they'd suffered a swift death with every fangbanger I came across.

Talking to Pam, I decided on a different approach with Sookie. It would be systematic desensitization or a sneak attack. No more direct advances, I would have to keep the lewdness to a minimum…that would be so very hard. I enjoyed getting a rise out of her too much. I had an iron clad will and mastery over my emotions that no human could fathom. I could do it if that was what was needed.

Currently Sookie didn't trust me. She was wary and her guard was all the way up. The best way around her defenses was to get accustomed to my presence using small bouts of positive interactions. If I did this I would gain the ground that I needed with her. The end result would be, first her allotting me some trust. Once she trusted me she would sleep with me. Then she would allow me to call the shots to govern her life without her interference. It sounded easy enough.

I'd driven to her house tonight, seeing it was finally safe to bring my corvette anywhere near there. More work had been done on her home in the past two days, I noticed. The shed looked new and a bit bigger. The siding of the house was in the process of being stripped away. Well, since home repairs seemed to put her in good spirits she should be positively over the moon. She was home alone, thankfully. Knocking on the door was out of politeness than real necessity. She heard the car and she would sense the vampire in it.

I still hadn't gotten used to how lovely she was. She was in an oversized t-shirt and pajama bottoms. Her hair was a curtain of blonde tresses around her. It curled in natural waves that gave it the effect of cascading and flowing even though it was still. For a few seconds we just stared at one another. To my immense satisfaction and surprise she looked away first. Her eyes were downcast in a show of being demure and nonthreatening. I smiled, so far so good.

"Thank you for the driveway," she said as if it killed her. Score one for me. I knew her manners would win.

"I wanted to give you something you could not return."

She looked up at me then, "I know what you're trying to do," she said jerking a thumb over to the driveway "You're trying to buy me, but I'm not for sale."

I wanted to growl at her. Why? Why couldn't this be as easy as I hoped? Then again it should be no surprise. Truly I should be very well used to it by now. Nothing about her had been easy. Every step of the way she insisted on turning the simplest interactions into a grueling exercise. On my face there was no show of the irritation I was feeling.

The immoral aspects of paying for sex didn't reach vampires. We found few things immoral. It was always as simple as equivalent exchange, paying the price for something you wanted. I wasn't above paying her to have her body. It would be just the same as paying for her telepathy. That thought never occurred to me where she was concerned. Shit, if I'd thought she was for sale I would have done scores better than several pounds of gravel. Did she think me so dense that I hadn't read her character better? Honestly!

"I meant it as a…"

Her eyes clouded and anger was rolling off her. Seriously? Well at least I was outside this time. Her hands were braced on her hips and she was the picture of a woman ready to verbally assault someone. I wasn't disappointed. "You're not sorry. What you said to me, is the truth. It is how you see me. It is how other vampires see me, as property, to be used to gain money or an advantage. To you I'm a something, not a someone."

She looked at me, challenging me to deny her claim. I remained silent. I had read her properly the other night. With my silence, her temper dropped several notches and she back to looking at her feet, her slightly bowed head was a show of subservience. I wondered if it was intention or not. Definitely not because she wasn't done.

"So, don't lie to me, Eric. Don't ever lie to me," she said, "Because I won't ever trust you or believe anything you ever say to me and that would make it impossible to keep working for you."

She wanted the truth. Fine by me, "Your temper is shit." Her face flushed but she didn't deny it.

By the second sentence I'd ever spoke to her I knew she had a bad temper. It would be just as easy for another vampire to read. They would know what buttons to push if they cared to learn her weakness. Once the world of the supernatural at large knew of her ability, they would all want to know just how to make her tick. She would make it easy. It a very bad thing but one that I would address it a later time.

"That driveway was a death trap. I replaced it because it was the vampire thing to do. When we offend someone without meaning to we make reparations not apologies"

She managed to look contrite and all she had to say was, "Oh."

"Yeah, 'oh'," I mocked. "And how do you expect me to be honest with you if you react so rashly every time you hear an ugly truth about my world?"

"I'm sorry," she said, and this time she really sounded it. She looked at me with the same eyes that had just burned with fierce indignation but they were now doe like and beguiling. "I talked to Bill. He told me what I did—rescinding your invitation like that, hurts physically. That wasn't what I'd wanted." She looked down at her hands and her teeth went to worry her bottom lip, "You're right I shouldn't have gotten so angry because you told me the truth. Okay, so I'm sorry."

I watched silently for a second because that was almost too easy. I'd thought her somewhat unreasonable especially with her bleeding heart and bad temper. But it would appear with the proper explanation she could concede her error.

"I am feeling magnanimous," I said with a somber expression. Her mouth fell open in a cross between amusement and incredulity. "I will forgive you…," I let the sentence hang.

"If…?" she prompted with an arch of her brow.

I smirked, "If you never do it again."

She smiled and rolled her eyes. With a theatrical wave of her hand and a curtsy she invited me in, "Sheriff Northman, the broker of all crooked deals, please do enter my humble abode." I was chuckling as I walked into her home. Smartass.

* * *

The past two weeks has been business as usual. Like I'd planned, I'd been gaining some ground with Sookie. She smiled at me when I showed up no matter what time of night that was. My light touches were no longer something she commented on. She was getting used to me slowly but surely. Our working relationship was also where it should be.

It was the night before the meeting with the sheriffs of Louisiana. I picked Sookie up and we were going to the home of the Rattrays to make sure there was nothing she'd missed or that the situation hadn't changed. Knowing these humans were especially vicious I told her that under no circumstance was she to go near them unprotected. Clancy, Maxwell Lee, and Indira had been taking rotation on guard duty. With a vampire she was able to follow the Rattray's as they met with several of their drainer friends. The information Sookie was uncovering was as invaluable as it was shocking.

Since I was her escort this evening it would be a little different. "Come, lover," I said, taking her hand. I didn't give her warning. I just slung her on my back and took off. With a little squeak of surprise that turned into a giggle, she hung on. Her legs wound around my waist, her arms around my neck.

"This is so cool," she was…bubbling. "I wished I could fly I when was a kid," she confessed with a dreamy sigh. I wanted to roll my eyes at her simplicity. The expensive cell phone I'd provided her with for work had gotten nothing but a polite thank you. The checks she received for the hours this case was making her keep hadn't even been cashed. But taking her on a five minute ride through the night sky was making her gush. Go figure.

"You'd make a killing at county fairs," she said.

I snorted, "I'd rather be used for target practice."

She chuckled and held on to me tighter. The feel of her breasts crushed against my back, the heat of her sex, the scent of her was more than I could handle. My feet touched ground and I need to have a taste of her, if only a little. I reached behind me and moved her from my back to my front. Her legs and arms were still wrapped around me. Her lips were slightly parted in shock and I took advantage. I cupped her face and brought my lips to hers. I had meant for it to be nothing more than a peck. But her lips held the all the velvety softness of a flower after a spring rain. The taste was succulent.

For a brief second Sookie gave into me. The hold she had on my neck went from simply holding me to pulling me closer to her. Her breasts pushed up as she squirmed slightly in my arms. The scent of her lust made my fangs want to drop and my body ache. It was like holding a bolt of lightning; feeling her pulse race, feeling her body heat, and feeling her only grow hotter and wetter still. I groaned my approval. My free hand moved from her thigh and dragged up her side. She shivered and leaned in close. When I cupped her breast in my hand she stilled and pulled away. Damn.

"We can't," she said, disentangling herself from me.

I hated to admit she was right, "Yes, later."

She snorted delicately "No, not later. Not at all."

I would contest that but it wouldn't do any good at the moment. Proving her wrong wouldn't mean much if I couldn't act on it right away. She had work to do and I had to focus on watching over her. It was hard because my dick was throbbing with desire. I pulled a few useless breaths and assured myself that the night I got my hands on Sookie I would make her satisfy all the hours of sexual frustration.

"Here," she said, once I'd flown her safely back home, "Keep it." She was handing me her notebook; the one that held all the information that she'd collected. "Keep it with the other stuff for tomorrow."

Since we've beenshadowing the local drainers I'd returned it to her care. With all the nights she'd continued to pick the minds of the Rattrays the little note book was almost filled with their dirt. I was a vampire and some of the things made me question their humanity and that was saying something. Of course I had copies but they changed from day to day. She'd also needed it for the presentation she was putting together for the meeting of the sheriffs tomorrow.

She'd devoted a lot of time to it. It was colorful and laid out in a way that was easy for us to understand. It wasn't that any of us were dim. It was just that she wrote information after hearing it from someone's mind. It left some questions we had and other information she knew but hadn't jotted down.

For instance, she now knew nervous tells and habits of the Rattrays that hadn't been in her notes. She knew their emotional make up and those of their friends. The presentation held a diagram to delineate the drainer networks. Also with the way she had everything spelled out, it would be easier for me to sell the information to other monarchs.

"Your presence is still required."

"I know, but I really don't see why."

She sighed dejectedly and her lower lip stuck out in an attractive pout. Try as I might I was still affected by it, because I knew just how soft those lips were. I was also amused at her resignation on the matter. It was such a far cry from her normally stubborn expression.

"I will protect you," I said. Before the words left my lips I was in front of her, with my hands on her waist. I watched her as she watched me. Every so slowly I began leaning my head towards hers, my intent was clear. She moved away, but I didn't let her go. "Why do you deny us both what we desire so?"

"You want sex," she said looking at me, and it wasn't even a question. She knew what I wanted no matter that I'd toned down my advances. It didn't change that she knew all I wanted was her body. I wasn't giving her enough credit. While she may be a virgin surely she'd had more than one man pursue her. She couldn't read my mind but must know full well how the male mind worked, especially where sex was concerned. Human or vampire, in that one thing we were all shockingly similar, hence her single status. Hell, she probably knew every trick in the book. "That's okay," she said with a nod. "I like that you're not lying to me about together forever just to get in my pants. I respect it"

I smiled and leaned again "So you will give yourself to me."

"No," she said pushing me away with an annoyed huff. "I appreciate your honesty in being straightforward with your intentions."

"How much do you appreciate it?" I said running my thumb over her bottom lip. It felt so good to be able to leer openly and watch her blush.

She sniffed and turned on her heel, "Not that much," she muttered. "So keep your hands to yourself." Yeah. I didn't think so but it was worth a try.

I knew no amount of exposure to me would change her mind. A month, three strategies, an ass kicking, and a new driveway later I was back to square one. Yet, the chase was still warm in my blood. I wasn't back at square one exactly I reminded myself as I watched her walk away. I could remember the feel of her body against mine as I kissed her. Just a bit more time I assured myself, I was sure I would wear her down.

Like waves of the ocean abrading a mountain—a very stubborn, titillating mountain—she would give way with time and persistence. I didn't care why, when, or where she gave in to me just that she did. If only to get me off her back, she would have sex with me. I was so looking forward to it.


	10. A Long, Long Night

**Chapter Ten**

The thing about Malcolm, Diane and Liam was that they were insane enough to disregard laws but smart enough to be long gone by the time shit hit the fan. Last I heard they had left the dismembered corpse of a young male blood slave along the interstate. A vampire Malcolm's age should know better. I knew I would do away with them but I'd just been pushing it aside until after I'd dealt with the more pressing problem of the drainers. That was a mistake that came to haunt me fairly quickly.

Resting at Fangtasia was not something I did often but I did so last night. Seeing the bar was closed today, like it was every other Monday resting here gave me time to set up for the meeting. There were going to be nine or ten of us. There were five sheriffs in Louisiana and each would be attending with a second in command.

Pam was established as my second so she would be with me. Cleo was sheriff of Alexandria and the surrounding towns, she was bringing her second, Basil with her. We were closest geographically so I checked in with her nightly to receive news from New Orleans. Zane headed Lafayetteville, he coordinated with Julius who was in Baton Rouge. He didn't have a second in command. If vampires were ever cautious and mistrustful then he was downright paranoid. It made sense because he was _the_ Julius as in Julius Cesar. Having a room full of senators in togas literally stab you in the back was pretty fucking humiliating. The fact that it was made possible by your two closest friends was the kind of treachery that left its mark no matter how long you lived.

Sophie-Anne acted as the sheriff of Area One, which saved her some hassle. There was no way she would leave the safety of wherever she was to attend anything other than a summit or another official event. André would be coming in her stead as he previously stated. He would also be bringing a guard, though I didn't know who.

Everything was coming together when I got a frantic call.

"Eric!" I knew that voice but the panic that laced it was new. She sounded out of breath as if she'd been running. "Help!"

"Lover," I said calmly "What's wrong?"

"Eric, they're going to kill Bill and burn down my house!"

"Stay inside," I ordered moving to the door of the bar. "Do you understand me?" Pam moved to flank me. She stopped to grab a belt that held an array of silver blades from my office.

"They're going to kill Bill," Sookie moaned. Even though she was inside I could hear snarls of aggression and roars of pain coming from outside. It told me what I expected. The only reason she was safe in her home was because the fight was amongst vampires.

"You cannot save him" Though I wasn't sure anyone should "I need you to save yourself. Even if the house begins to burn do not go outside. "It would go against every instinct she had but I hoped she would trust that I would save her. In the house she might perish but that was unlikely especially if the blaze hadn't been set yet. I had time. Going outside the protection of her home, she would definitely die. "Wait for me lover. I will come to you, I swear."

I didn't have to make guesses as to who was threatening Sookie and attacking Bill. I already knew, Malcolm and his gang. I had made sure Bill couldn't offer them safe rest during the day. I had given Malcolm a verbal warning as he entered my boundaries. For them to attack Bill was a direct challenge to my authority. For them to threaten Sookie, an asset of the queen, would be what sealed their fate. My sword was strapped across my body and I was shooting through the air with Pam flying dead at my heels. There was only one thing on my mind, murder.

This would be the psycho trio's last and final infraction. Were I to follow due process I would have to hold them then cite reasons for their execution. Anything else would result in my owing their surviving creators sums of money. I chose neither. I was done playing with these three clowns. I would end them, quick and easy. Their scents would wash away with the next rain. Plus I had the perfect scapegoats to blame it on.

"Run aerial," I said to Pam.

I could see the scene long before I was within landing distance. Thankfully the house wasn't on fire. But Bill was a hair's breadth away from his final death. The fight ended with three well placed moves. I removed Diane's head with a one handed flick of my sword. Her head had been thrown back having a good laugh at Bill's expense. She never saw it coming which was a pity because that bitch deserved to suffer. In the same maneuver I hurled Liam into the air, right into Pam's deadly embrace. The coward Malcolm tried to make a run for it.

"You know I'm a real pacifist at heart," I snarled dangerously. "Dirtying my sword makes me quite unhappy Malcolm."

I let him run full tilt and followed at a leisurely stroll. Pam would cut him off. He was going to chose who ended his existence. The point was, it was going to end. He spotted Pam as she hovered off the ground several feet ahead. Together she and I circled him. Deciding Pam was the easiest, he went for her. He lasted about twenty-three seconds. Malcolm should have let me usher him to the final death. At least I wouldn't have stabbed him in the balls before removing his head. My second child might have been born in the Victorian era but she fought like a Valkyrie.

I returned to Bill and found Sookie leaning over him with her wrist pressed to his fangs. That wasn't a comfortable vein for a human to offer. Having a vampire feed from the wrist meant more pain, of all the pulse points the wrists had the most nerve endings. There were also tendons that a younger vampire might damage if they dug their fangs in too deep.

"You're okay?" she said, stroking his hair with her free hand. Her jaw was gritted against the pain but there was no hiding it. Yet, she bore it with all the grace of a martyr. "You'll be okay."

Sookie's blood was literally making my mouth water. It was poignant in the air even with the scent of so much blood and ash all over the front lawn. My fangs descended as I watched Bill drink. The baser instincts of the innate predator in me wanted to beat him into a pulp and claim her as mine. She was after all my future lover. I should be drinking from her, not him. Giving into instincts wouldn't do anyone any good right now, especially Bill. With a regretful sigh I turned my back to them and moved down wind. Some days being sheriff was a thankless job. I swoop in and save the day and what do I get? Nothing.

Bill let Sookie go though I knew his body didn't want to. His fangs were still extended signaling his need of more blood. "Thank you, darling," he said trying to move on his own volition, as if.

They'd used him as a pin cushion. They hadn't used blades which would have hurt less and been less damaging. They'd used branches, stabbing him repeatedly and leaving splinters embedded in his flesh. A vampire's body couldn't heal around wood and for some bizarre reason our bodies couldn't force it out. The bits of wood would have to be dug out. There wasn't much I could do for him outside of calling Clancy to come over with a pair of tweezers. I had to pick up the battered body of Bill Compton—again. Was it me or was this damsel in distress bit getting redundant? I was really beginning to wish his ancestors had settled in Mexico or Antarctica.

"What the hell happened?" I asked Bill once I got him to his home. I placed him in his day chamber because he wasn't going anywhere without a day's rest and a shitload of blood. I wasn't sure which fate was worse. It was definitely the six pack he had to drink, I decided. That stuff was especially vile when it was cold.

"Malcolm was angry with me. He thought I asked you to issue him the warning." I rolled my eyes. The trail of dead humans and the fact that all vampires were now under intense scrutiny had nothing to do with it. "I was talking them down when Sookie came over. When Liam grabbed her I just…" he shrugged. "I fought them here so she could get home. They brought me to her house to taunt her into coming out"

"If anyone asks you if have seen Malcolm and his gang of psychopaths?" I questioned.

"Malcolm who?" He quipped, cracking open his first bottle. "Cut her some slack with whatever she does for you at night. They killed her cat, ripped the poor thing limb from limb just for spite."

The cat had been a gift from Sookie's grandmother to help her with the grief of losing more than half her family in one blow. She hadn't told me this though I knew it to be so. She treated the cat better than some people treated their children. I knew she was attached to it. She wasn't as emotional as most women but I knew the loss would hurt her. Tonight was the worse night for it. I sighed internally and began making my way back.

"I have to clean the blood," I heard Sookie say to Pam. "Terry…he can't see the blood." She sounded controlled save the slightly high pitched tenor to her voice. "He'll…freak...he'll...he can't see the blood."

The poignant scent of Sookie's grief reached me before I got to the door of her home. It hung heaviest by a window where she'd most likely witnessed the whole episode. Anguished as she was, she was worried about her roommate. She gave other people so much more consideration than she gave herself. Staying inside while Bill was harmed had been difficult for her. I could hear her desire to save him with every word she'd spoken on the phone. Her offering her wrist to Bill was surprising but not entirely. He'd been in need so she helped. It was that simple for her, oddly enough it made her harder for me to read. In my experience nothing and no one was simple.

Brave as she was, she was still only human. The events she experienced tonight had caused her both physical and emotional pain. I was worried because I knew under her strained calm were emotions that were threatening to choke her. It wasn't that I didn't understand she was shaken but falling apart now would solve nothing. I had no empathy for her. I'd never experienced anything like this. I wouldn't say I sympathized, either. I…pitied her. Someone that wanted nothing more than to help others shouldn't have to hurt so needlessly. She didn't deserve it.

That was life. Bad things do happen to good people. Those events either changed them or they killed them. The strong always prey on the weak. The weak either got stronger or they perished. Being deserving had nothing to do with those facts of life. It was just the manner of things. It wasn't fair to ask Sookie to keep it together just for a while longer but that was exactly what I had to do. She'd worked hard on her presentation and I had important people that were due to arrive very soon. I needed her on her 'A' game. Shaken or not, she had to deliver.

"I will clean the blood," Pam inserted in firm tone.

"No, if I'm focused on cleaning, then I'm not hurting."

"Go shower and have yourself a good cry," my child said in a softer voice. "When there are no more tears fighting to break free you will hurt less."

I was close enough now to see them through the kitchen window. Pam moved to stand in front of Sookie. She raised her slowly. It might have been to show comfort but it was a foreign concept where humans were concerned. It was confusing because between us there was casual touches but it reserved for blood or lovers. Neither applied to Sookie and so my child didn't seem to know what to with her hand she used it efficiently in the end. She gently pushed Sookie towards her bedroom.

"You'll clean all the blood?" Sookie said looking over her shoulder. "And…Tina?"

Pam nodded, "Yes I will, now go."

While Malcolm hadn't been able to enter the house he'd thrown a rock through a kitchen window. He'd then used the broken window to toss in bits of the dismembered cat. I was in one of those moods where I wish I had chosen to capture instead of kill. I would have loved to see how Malcolm liked trying to crawl with missing limbs.

Pam tackled the inside of the house. I took the outside. Sookie was concerned about keeping her roommate oblivious to what happened here. I would at least make sure she got that wish. I picked up pits of tattered clothes. I trampled over footprints to bury signs of a scuffle. I used a hose to wash away any signs of blood and ash outside the house. Even Terry's dog wouldn't be able to pick up on it. There was nothing to be done for the window except the make the break a clean one. With the renovations still going on Sookie could explain it away.

While I worked I kept my ears alert to see if Sookie was crying. Death was no stranger to her. She'd known more of it in her childhood than most adults ever witness especially because she read minds. Maybe I misread her calm. It might not have been strained after all. It made me unsure about the advice Pam had given her. I explained as much to Pam as we worked.

"Trying not to cry after you lose something you love takes too much energy," Pam said confidently. "She won't be able to focus on the meeting if she doesn't get it out now."

"Dear Abby?" I asked curiously.

Pam nodded proudly. Her obsession with the advice column was never one I understood. I just attributed it to her being young; she was only a hundred and ninety two. Her already sparse interest in human things would wane entirely over time. Whatever the reason I was glad she had some insight into the situation.

I left Pam to escort Sookie in her car. I flew ahead to make sure no one was waiting for us at Fangtasia. I should have made Sookie fly because her decrepit car needed a tail wind and a downhill coast to make seventy miles per hour. She and Pam arrived seconds before the first of the sheriffs approached.

Pam had been right, I mused. There'd been no sobs while Sookie showered but the time alone and away from the physical proof of her bad night had brought her back in full. She looked as good as she always. Her hair was pulled up into a neat chignon. She wore a light blue sheath dress that complimented her eyes. The frock was neither casual nor formal but befitting of the meeting she was required to attend. It fit her in a way that made all the feminine things about her standout even more, as if she needed the help. Over the dress was a white sweater to hide a bruise that matched a hand print and the fang marks Bill left were bandaged tight to keep the smell of blood from the room.

"Your car is shit," I said with a grin.

She snorted delicately. I was beginning to register it as a sign of equal parts amusement and derision. "It matches my temper."

I had to smile. I took her hand and walked her over to the area. Her tripod had already been set up and held all the diagrams and point of references in the proper order. Her pulse was pounding as her nerves grew. "No need to be afraid." I said stroking her cheek.

She gave me a look that questioned my sanity. "Frankly, it would be irresponsible not to be scared. I'm a human who's about to tell a room full of vampires they are being strategically hunted."

"I won't let anyone hurt you" I said draping my arm around her. From the corner of the room both Pam and Cleo made rude noises. "I'll remain beside all through the meeting" My head dropped down to bring me within a breath of her ear. "Even after that I can remain beside you, under you, over you I'm not very picky just as long as I'm in…"

She spun and clamped her hand over my mouth to cut off my next words. Her face was red and I was sure if she wasn't so mortified she would have been furious. It had begun as a way to distract her but let it never be said that I wasn't thorough in my duties. Also getting a rise out of her was amusing as it's always been. I flicked my tongue across her palm and she yelped and pulled her hand away. I was laughing at her reaction. She was too easy to get a rise out of.

She glared, tried to maintain it but the expression crumpled and she laughed "You can't go around doing stuff like that. What is the matter with you?"

"I want to lick a beautiful woman" I replied unrepentant.

Instead of making a reproachful speech she shook her head with a sardonic smile. I traced a finger from her jaw, sliding lightly down the side of her neck. Every time I touched her, her body reacted even though the woman herself didn't. With every errant touch, every light caress her body was becoming more aware of mine. Lust was growing; the passion was building, both needing an outlet or they'd consume her.

The scales were tipping ever so slowly in my favor. Having Sookie Stackhouse was now just a matter of time. She was fighting her urges and my advances. She wouldn't last much longer. I would satisfy my body in hers, I would bask in the sweetness from her sex and her blood…watching the pulse point in her neck thrum wildly brought with it a need to drink.

"You'll do beautifully," I leaned in and kissed her lips lightly.

We took our seats and waited for everyone else to arrive. André was to last to enter. He had the face of a cherub on the body of a teenager. He had ash blonde hair and eyes that were almost mercurial in their blue coloring. They held all the predatory edge that his physical appearance so easily belied. Those eyes were trained on Sookie intently the second he walked through the door.

"Welcome…" I began. The buzzing of Pam's cell interrupted me. She ignored it and so did the rest of us. We all knew the importance of always being in touch. "You all have an idea of situation." I waved my hand at Sookie and while she'd gotten more than several open appreciative glances no one had approached her. She in turn had worked to studiously ignore us. "This is Sookie Stackhouse. She is a telepath and she will give us the specifics."

Sookie never got the chance: Pam's phone went off again. With a slight frown she looked down. At her second phone call I reached for my phone and turned it on. There had to be an emergency of some sort. The missed call flashed to life on my screen just as Pam exited the room without excusing herself.

"Problem?" Cleo asked.

"Not sure." I replied.

Pam returned and she was stone faced. It wasn't an unusual expression for her. Normally she wore it better than this. She looked and felt strained.

"You need to take this," She passed me the phone.

"Excuse me," I said nodding at André in apology. "Sookie continue, I will re join the group momentarily."

She looked around the room anxiously. I gave her an encouraging smile and nodded. Then I left. Pam would watch over her while I dealt with whatever shit storm was coming my way. I'd actually thought Malcolm would be the only unexpected hiccup of the evening. It was a testament that no matter how bad things got they could always get worse—a lot worse.

* * *

Guess who's calling?

Loving the reviews and everyone's thoughts and feelings on the FF so far keep em coming!


	11. Godric

**Having so much with this Fic. It has a different feel than any of the others. It's moving slower but don't you guys worry. You know I'm good for the action factor. **

**If you are loving the minimal to nonexistent grammatical errors and such, remember that it wouldn't be possible without my Beta rebecca.t. . wrecker, She's an absolute wiz!**

* * *

**Chapter Eleven **

"Speak." I barked into the mouthpiece.

"Eric," the tone was calm and cool and the voice recognizable.

Stan, the king of Texas was calling me. I got the completely irrational urge to throw the phone, break and shatter it into a million pieces so he couldn't confirm my fear. There was only one reason why he would be doing so himself and not tasking it to one of his many underlings.

"Godric has gone missing" he continued unaware of my panic "I wanted to know if…" He let his words hang in the air not wanting to say what I knew he meant. He wanted to know if my maker was finally dead.

"I do not understand," I finally told him.

I mean I did, intellectually, but I was so dumfounded that that was the only response I could muster. I was forming a million little scenarios in my head where my maker simply lost his phone or went on vacation and no one got the memo or maybe he...In the deeper part of my mind I knew I was partaking in denial, which was useless of course. I needed details and facts to help me get a grip. "How long?" I asked.

"Two nights. He went out with a few other vampires from the nest to a popular club and when they were ready to leave he was nowhere to be found. They shut the club down and searched until close to dawn but they found nothing. His car was there and there had been no signs of a struggle,"

A vampire of Godric's stature does not simply go missing. Shit, no one ever just vanishes into thin air. Someone somewhere knew something. An attack was my first thought; a power play by an underling close to Godric looking to rise in ranks by taking him out. If that was the case there was no way he hadn't succeeded in taking a few people with him. Such a thing would have been impossible to contain in a public place. There had to be more to this.

"Humans are suspected because there were only five vampires there that night. All were with him." That had been my second thought and it chilled me to have Stan speak those words.

In the two weeks that had passed since the drainer network had been brought to my attention I'd realized just how misguided we vampires were in our confidence as the baddest things in the night. After all we were at the top of the food chain, super human senses and physical strength, never mind immortality, just to name a few advantages. We were no one's prey. The drainers had played to our arrogance and it has served them well.

Somehow the knowledge of the division of the vampire territories, Amun, Naranaya, Zeus and Moshup and all the states within them were known to Steve Newlin. That was how they had been hunting us so systematically. It wasn't a coincidence that within a major city in one of the four territories there was a major FoTS church. It was where the drainers-actually the term bounty hunters would be more apropos, it was where they operated from. They had what Sookie dubbed a 'Bingo book'. It had pictures and names of just about every vampire king and queen in the nation. It had their guards and everyone under those guards. It also listed the prices on all their head. I was worth two hundred thousand. The bounty on my maker was double that.

According to Sookie Louisiana was a distribution state because any vampire that went missing here would be noticed, the area was too small. The Rattrays had gotten greedy in taking down Mickey. That couple from hell normally got their supply from New Orleans and then peddled it to two bit dealers throughout the surrounding areas.

So in reality Steven Newlin was nothing but a drug lord cornering the market on supply. On Sundays he was busy in church renouncing vampires and blaming us for all the things that were wrong with the world. He then turned around to hunt us and peddle our blood to humans. How hypocritical and fucked up was that? I had to admit no vampire I knew could think this shit up. That was saying something.

No human that a vampire had could be trusted. Shit, we couldn't even feed safely. Hunters sent out bait that was infected with Sino-Aids. It was the only blood borne pathogen that weakened a vampire but had no effect on the human. That was just one of their many advantages in hunting us. The V network had a strict safety protocol for the bounty hunters and their distributors so as to uphold the integrity of the whole system.

A month ago I would have found the thought of Godric falling prey to anyone, least of all humans, amusing. Even knowing all that I did about the V network I didn't want to believe it. My maker was the first person I'd warned when I got the information from Sookie. Godric was well over two thousand years old. His power in terms of physical strength was second to none of all vampires in the new world. He would have been careful. He was always so very careful. There had to be something else. Denial wasn't useful but the small dose that I was holding onto was helping me save my sanity.

"What else has been done?" I asked Stan.

"At the moment not much," he admitted. "I am away and have taken many of my people with me." I wanted to growl but it would serve no purpose and Stan was not being callous just calculating. Just because Godric meant the world to me didn't mean Stan had to give a shit.

"If you permit I will come," I didn't want it to sound like an order because Stan could very well refuse. He was king and I was a sheriff of another monarch. He did not have to grant me permission to join the search. The fact that he called me told me that he intended me to do just what I offered.

"When can you arrive?"

"Before dawn."

"Go to the Hotel Camilla. There Isabelle will meet you," he replied.

I shook aside the building rage and tried to focus. Godric still lived. I would be the first to know if he was no more, but yet he felt…absent. It didn't matter, once I focused more I would use our bond to locate him. My emotions were so forceful that it brought Pam into my office.

"What has happened?"

My eyes closed and my body trembled as grief threatened to choke me. There was no more denial. It was very possible that bounty hunters had not only overpowered him but managed to keep him prisoner. Rage continued brimming in my skull. I didn't know what he might be suffering and that tormented me most. I wanted to both kill something with my bare hands and curl in a ball and weep at what I was in danger of losing. I indulged in neither. Falling apart or going on a rampage would serve no purpose. It wouldn't save him.

"Godric," I whispered. "I think the hunters have him."

My senses shut down entirely and the last thing my physical body registered was Pam tightening her hold on me. Then my mind detached as I dug into the core of all that I was. It felt like having all the blood in my body roil and come apart one molecule at a time. They all began searching for that part of me that was Godric's. There should be a clear read on his emotions and then location would become clearer as I drew closer. That was how it should work. It didn't.

"I…" My lips refused to form the truth of this matter I felt like I was dying all over again. It wasn't a physical pain it was the feeling of being completely adrift, cut off from my center. "Pam…I can't…find him," I looked up her and I caught my horror filled expression off her cobalt gaze.

"But you feel him?" She asked.

I nodded. From what I'd learned the severing of a maker-child bond was painful. It was also instantaneous and therefore unmistakable akin to losing a limb and having it grow back all at once. I would have known if I'd lost him. Instead of there being silence and a void I got nothing from Godric but a suffocating depressive wall of smog. It was thick and mutinous. It wasn't from injury it was of sheer desolation. It made me feel as though all the worlds' misery was weighing upon my very soul. I retreated before I came into full contact with it. That wouldn't help me find him but it told me he was still very much undead.

"What is Stan doing?"

I shook my head. "Not much. There aren't a lot of available hands. He called me to see if Godric's called out to me."

Now that my mind was clearer I was confused as to _why_ Godric hadn't called out to me. He would not have had to call me to him were he in danger. All he would had to was release the block that prevented me from feeling his emotions. I would have known he was in need and I would have come. In the unlikely event that wasn't possible he would have used an edict to summon me to him if he was in need. Why did he not call me?

"I need you to finish up the meeting," I told Pam.

"I will come with you"

"No" I said taking her face in my hands. "No luv you will stay here and oversee our affairs" I stroked her cheeks as the edict I decreed settled into her body. I wasn't exactly sure what it felt like but I knew it wasn't pleasant. "I'm sorry. I know that does't feel good but I didn't trust you to obey on faith alone"

She folded her arms across her chest and sighed. "I wouldn't have"

There was no telling what kind of trouble I would find where I was going. It was not somewhere I would take Pam. She was strong and skilled but she was young. This was one of those instances where Thalia would be useful but she was still AWOL. I needed Pam to hold down the fort because no one else could. For all her drab, bored and often impatient demeanor, Pam operated at genius level intellect when she applied herself, most times she couldn't be bothered but right now it was what I needed. We'd both already been briefed by Sookie…speaking of which where was she?

I listened and heard the thumping of her heart. It wasn't frantic but it wasn't steady. She was under some kind of duress with André in the building that was more than fucking likely. Damn it. Taking the time to school my features I exited my office. I found Sookie and André in entrance into the back section of the club. They weren't within sight or sound of the sheriffs in the main bar nor could I have heard them from my office. Her back was against the wall and André had his braced on either side of here, looming and keeping her where she was.

"André," I called. My tone was sharper than I intended but it was the best I could do at the moment. "Regretfully we must leave you sooner than planned." He hadn't looked up at his name but he did then.

"Something is amiss?"

"Yes." The expression on my face told him his unspoken question would go unanswered. "Pam will conclude the meeting."

"It is the telepath's presentation," André said brushing an imaginary piece of lint from Sookie's sweater. "She will see it through to the end."

Sookie stiffened momentarily but otherwise made no other outward reactions. It was the best thing she could have done. As I mentioned André was a dick and I didn't like him. He wasn't unaware of it as I didn't try to hide it very much. However, I followed orders and was loyal to my Queen. That was all he should care about as her lieutenant. It wasn't.

He liked to find mental and emotional sore spots and pick them raw. That was all this was. Neither Sookie nor I was going to give him what he was looking for. I knew André was trying to rattle her and goad me. He was assuming Sookie meant something to me. She didn't. I knew from personal experience that she was bold. Given the night she'd had it should have lessened if not completely diminished but it hadn't, she barely flinched under his touch.

"That would be ideal but is no longer feasible," I was out of patience and that wasn't a request and it showed in my tone and he responded to the challenge in it. "We are leaving." I needed to get to Dallas. Bobby had found me a red eye and I had less than two hours to get to the airport. I wasn't going to waste another second arguing with André. "Sookie," I held my hand out, "Come here, now please" If the order bothered her she didn't show it.

She complied immediately. She ducked out from under André's arms slowly as if waiting for him to stop her. He didn't. He continued to glare at me. His eyes narrowed, nostrils flared. I was being fully insubordinate but I didn't care. I knew he would remember this and wouldn't let it go without consequence but I didn't care about that either.

"Thanks for leaving me in a room full of big bad vampires," She said once we got outside.

"Something has come up," I said ushering her towards my car. "We need to go to Dallas."

She dug her heels in to prevent me from pulling her farther.

"Dallas?" She almost screeched "I can't go to Dallas!"

"We have an agreement do we not? I expect you to honor it" She was most likely thinking about her job with the shifter and it only made me angrier. She was wasting my time with that meager position. "Your employment with the shifter does not grant you a pardon."

She could hate me as I threw the truth in her face but I didn't care. None of laughs we've shared had changed that accord. The fact that she would resent me didn't matter. Getting her on the flight to Dallas did, Godric did. Her eyes were sharp as glass and I felt fury roll off her. In my state of mind, her anger, her defiance, and her stubbornness were nothing compared to the worry I was battling and the pressure it put me under. I was going to get my way. All that she could control was how it came about.

"Are we going to do this the easy way or the hard way?" I prompted.

We were descending into Dallas and Sookie still had not spoken to me. We had left the club and headed straight for the airport. She was dressed in the same clothes but I already had her essentials waiting at the hotel. While I relayed all this to her she remained quiet.

"How long will you be angry this time?" I knew she wouldn't harbor a grudge against me. Her temper flared and burned out pretty quickly. Her response was to cut me a look that could chill ice. I sighed internally. I was looking for her to distract me but clearly that was not going to happen. It was a good time to debrief her.

"A friend of mine went missing two days ago," I told her. "Bounty hunters are presumed to be behind it." She did not show any inclination that she heard but I continued regardless, knowing her ears worked perfectly. "He was last seen in a night club. We will know more once we meet with a vampire of his." Again there was no response.

We were sharing a hotel suite. Two separate bedrooms with common living areas. I thought she would comment on the sleeping arrangements but she did not. She said nothing. I went left and she went right. Her anger I could ignore and deflect with ease but her silence and indifference was a whole other thing. Perhaps it was unwise to speak to her that harshly then expect to do her best on this job. I would offer another incentive. I went to her room and knocked.

"I'm leaving your check for this job on the kitchen table. Half now and then the other half when the assignment is completed" There was no response but I knew she was not asleep. I let it go. There were other more pressing matters on my mind than a woman that thought I was rude. She could get in line with the thousand others.

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I know there are a lot of you that want to beat Eric like rented mule but bare with him...But review, review and tell me all about it.


	12. In The Mix

If you are loving the pace of the update then you know who you should thank, my awesome beta.** Rebecca. **

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**Chapter Twelve**

There was only three hours before the sun rose and I spent them prying at the ties that bound me to my maker. The oppressive fog where he should be was relentless. I could feel his presence there droning softly in the back of my mind. When a vampire shares their blood with a human they were privy to the emotions and locations of that human. That was temporary.

There was no way to put the maker/child bond into words. It was like having a separate part of my brain that was just for those who were of my blood. I could feel him but I couldn't reach him. It was frustrating. For a reasons I couldn't imagine I felt as if he didn't want to be found. That wasn't possible. He had to be drugged. That would explain why he wasn't calling me and why I couldn't reach him. He was in trouble or perhaps he was suffering from silver poisoning.

Humans who attacked vampires didn't always know that there was a thing as too much silver. They were liable to finally end a vampire unintentionally with the excess. If his blood was poisoned he was running out of time at a pace that I couldn't predict. I forced the thought aside and continued trying to locate him until that giant ball of fire forced me to defeat.

The next night I woke to find Sookie gone from the hotel room. I knew she'd only left out of sheer defiance. While we'd worked on the case of the drainers she'd stuck close to the guards she was given, while away from home she should have known to do the same. I didn't have long to ponder her whereabouts. She returned with a bag of food and strode right past me. There was no inclination that anyone else was in the room with her. Her eyes didn't avoid me as I would have expected. They glanced past me as if she saw through me.

"Silent treatment," I scoffed. "Very mature." And to my immense consternation it was effective.

She was forgiving. I knew she didn't hold grudges. I'd come to count on it no matter my presumed grievances against her. The fact that a night's sleep didn't return her to her normal self both annoyed and surprised me. Of all the things for her to remain angry over this made the least sense. I'd asked her to do nothing but fulfill our agreement. There hadn't been time to give her notice but that wasn't a factor I could've controlled. This wasn't simply a matter of her making money for my area. This was about Godric. I wasn't about to even pretend to be sorry.

She let my words roll off her back and continued on the way to her bedroom. That just pissed me off so I poked at her weakness; her temper "It's better than the usual harping, so thanks."

There was no change and she glided into her room and closed the door with deliberate softness. My threatening growl followed after her. I didn't have long to contemplate the telepath's infuriating behavior. The concierge called, announcing that my contact person from Stan's regime and Godric's nest had arrived.

When Isabelle entered the suite she wasn't empty handed. Stan knew what Sookie was. Word was spreading like wildfire because Sophie-Anne was telling any king and queen that sat down long enough to listen. It could be called advertising but I knew she was simply rubbing their noses in it. Trinkets and gifts like the ones Isabelle carried wouldn't be the last of their kind. It was a subtle way of telling Sookie, 'If Sophie-Anne doesn't treat you right. I will' Add the fact that Sookie both smelled and looked delicious and Sophie-Anne was going to have to treat her right to keep her.

"This club is the most exclusive in all of Texas," Isabelle said, looking at Sookie with an appreciative once over. "No matter what clothing you have brought, His Majesty doubts it would be suitable."

Of course that was why. He wouldn't be trying to buy my telepath. It took another hour for Sookie to be ready to leave. I knew it was Isabelle's doing and not Sookie's. She broke the stereotype of women taking hours to get dressed. In the meantime I busied myself trying to reach Godric, to no avail. Sookie's bedroom door opened and I was knocked for a loop. I now knew why she never dressed in anything risqué or attention grabbing. It would cause men to fall at her feet in droves. The strong willed southern belle was gone and in her place was a Goth queen in all her devastating beauty.

The bustier she wore was snow white. It was adorned in genuine black pearls that crisscrossed in a complementary fashion. It clung to her breasts and pushed up the swell of the already full mounds. The top stopped short, leaving her belly bare, from two inches under her bust to the suggestive and very visible indentation of her waistline. From there a black leather skirt covered her. If she dropped anything, she was just going to have to take the loss because bending over in the short form fitting skirt was going to be impossible. Somehow the intricate plait Isabelle had wound her long blonde hair in and the dark black make up around her eyes gave her an elegance that offset the amount of skin she showed.

Truly that would have been enough to draw every eye and turn every head. The crowning jewel was around her neck. That was what really placed her in a league all her own. Sookie's neck was a showcase of diamond and black pearls, and the choker style necklace was a lesson in what money could buy. In the hollow of Sookie's throat laid a large emerald cut diamond. It was the nexus for row after row of black pearls that were weaved and intertwined in an intricate chandelier pattern. The crushed diamonds that outlined each row gave the pearls an ethereal shimmer. If that wasn't enough, the black strappy high heels she wore matched them. Coupled with her clothes, the woman before me radiated luxurious Victorian and Burlesque styles impeccably.

Stan had outdone himself. Too bad it wouldn't do him any good. For starters, Sookie would have a hard time thanking him. She was uncomfortable. I could see it in the way her hands were held at her side. No woman that was draped in enough jewelry to buy a large house would be self-conscious. She wanted to cover her body but was resisting the urge knowing she needed to exude confidence.

"I have secured her an escort," Isabelle said.

Yeah sure, take my telepath off to heaven knows where in your state. I'll just be here with my head up my ass, trusting blindly that you'll return her to me. Did she really think she was the first to try that bit? If I was my normal self I would have laughed in her face. Such as it was I scowled and flashed a bit of fang.

"She goes nowhere if I cannot follow." So off we went.

The music in Club Maxis was at thundering volumes. We entered through the main entrance and that had been a fan filled affair. Even with Isabelle, Lucas, and me in front her, humans were braving the phalanx to get to Sookie. One of the men had actually asked for her autograph. He must have assumed her to be vampire. He begged her and for some reason she obliged him and allowed him to take a picture. That little bit of encouragement only made my job harder, which was her objective I presumed. Once she signed an autograph for him, more admirers came forward. It took half an hour and some death glares to get her inside.

Sookie hadn't been comfortable with the setting. Her plan was to peruse the dance floor and see what she picked up. The club was too big for that. Also, with the amount of attention she was getting, it was impossible. Simply getting from the door to the booth had been a production. The only way she'd be able to work was to sit and fan out her sixth sense as far as it could reach. By the pinch of her brow I knew she'd found something.

"Isabelle, your three o'clock," Sookie whispered tipping her head back and taking a sip of her bottled water. "Lucas, your nine, some bad people have ya'll marked."

Neither vampire moved but I knew they were at full attention, we all were. From our private booth we scanned the bar focusing at the points she'd indicated. There was nothing but it showed the limitations of the five senses no matter how heightened they were. "They know," She continued. "They know what I…" Her whole frame went rigid.

Nothing Sookie said all evening had been directed at me. She spoke knowing I heard and would use the information all the same. I had to say; when she dished out the silent treatment she took that shit seriously. It was grating on my already raw nerves. Suddenly she yanked me down by the front of my shirt before she shouted "Gun!" My body covered hers as I pulled us under the table. I saw Isabelle and Lucas there with us. That registered barely a nanosecond before gunfire rang out.

The music still played but chaos was in full swing. After a while the smell of human blood, panic, fear, and pain hung like a fog. The unmistakable odor of death hung thick. It made me hungry. There were screams as they all tried to get away. It appeared the would-be assassins were hitting everything but their intended targets.

"Stay," I said holding Sookie's face in my hands. "No matter what, you wait for me right here. I will return for you. If anyone else touches you scream, scream like your life depends on it." We both knew that it quite possibly might. She nodded with wide eyes. She was worried but there was no panic. Her head was clear. Good. I appreciated her calm under literal fire.

"Lucas, with me!" I said, passing him a dagger from my boot. He had his own which was more than I could say for the empty-handed Isabelle. "You will watch over her or I will hunt you the rest of your days." I didn't wait for Isabelle's assent before I turned to Lucas. "I'll run decoy."

It wasn't the most appealing thought but I could sustain more damage than he could. A normal bullet wound was nothing but I had to assume they came packed with silver. I never found out. The gunmen could do with hours at a gun range. I was six feet four with blonde hair. Lucas was at least six one with a ring looped through his nostrils. The lights were on. We were two of the very few people moving. I just didn't get it. Seriously, how did these guys keep missing?

There were only two shooters but they had a handful of accomplices scattered in the crowd. "Lucas, behind you!" Sookie shouted. She may not be able to get into the thick of battle but she was an asset none-the-less. Lucas complied as a human snuck behind him with a stake in hand. He deflected the blow and used the human as a shield. His friends killed him. No fuss no muss from the cops later about vampire slayings. Knowing the human buffoons they'd still find a way to spin the story into, 'Vampire shoots up local night club under orders from Lucifer.'

"Eric, left!" I flipped into a neat crouch and came up with my dagger flying at the human. The good news was that that was a beautifully executed maneuver. The bad, I only had one dagger left and the fight wasn't over. The gunmen were still taking shots and three more of their partners in crime were mixed in with the crowd. One was pretending to be hiding under a table as if afraid. He launched himself at me apparently having missed vampire hunting 101 at hate camp. The basic lesson that covered our superior senses; I could smell his single-minded ferocity and animosity. It was what drew my attention, the idiot. Only the gunmen remained when I heard police sirens in the distance. Sitting through interrogations at central booking wasn't something I had time for on a good night. In the mood I was in I probably would respond like Thalia. It was time for us to go.

I covered Lucas and called for his retreat. I collected Sookie and made for the back of the club. A back entrance was usually in the same direction as the restrooms. It was a guess and it paid off. Once outside I took to the air with Sookie in my arms. Isabelle and Lucas should be fine. If they weren't then it was their own fault.

Isabelle and Lucas were already at the hotel when I arrived. It was good thing because I wanted to accuse them of having a spy in their midst to their faces. There had been a major lapse of security and they would answer for it. The minute I landed I called Stan. No human should have known what Sookie was unless it had left the lips of an immortal. They had a fucking problem and it was now my problem. No wonder Godric had been attacked right here in his own area. He had imbeciles under him, which was so unlike him.

"Stan," I said speaking into my phone. "We have a problem, you and me."

"Do we now?" he replied calmly.

"I have been within your boundaries less than twenty-four hours and I've already been attacked. That's a fucking problem."

There was silence for three of Sookie's heartbeats before he said, "You are accusing me of something, Sheriff." His words were terse and the warning they carried clear, "Explain to me exactly what."

"My asset was targeted in a club your people frequent, in the same club my maker went missing." I bit my tongue—literally. Not being able to locate Godric through our bond was getting to me. It made me unsure of everything, my abilities included. It was a feeling I wasn't used to so that added to my volatility. That wasn't an excuse. I needed to be very careful and toe the line without stepping over. Stan was a king. "There is a breech and it needs to be found and dealt with," I couldn't bite back the growl that escaped at the end.

"I agree. Have your telepath find it and have Isabelle deal with it," then he hung up.

Sookie changed out of her clothes and watched as I discussed the next move with Isabelle and Lucas. She looked tired and I wanted her to go to sleep but I knew she wouldn't. Having her actions discussed without her was something she detested. It wasn't that her presence changed much but she liked to be there all the same.

"Send her where?" I asked Isabelle calmly. I know this bitch just didn't say what I thought she said. I know she didn't. There was no way Isabelle just said I should send Sookie into the heart of the Fellowship of The Sun during the day.

"At the church she will uncover more," Isabelle said in placating tone.

Yeah, she had said it. I wanted to punch her in her throat for it, too.

If going to the church was an option why wasn't that what we did first? I knew the answer. They didn't what to aggravate the delicate situation they had with that cretin Steve Newlin. If only they all knew what that bastard did on his free time. They would change their tune if they knew that the church in Dallas was a rumored research facility as well as a V processing plant. They'd wasted my time. It was time I didn't have. It was time I feared Godric didn't have.

"She will be accompanied by my Hugo," she continued.

Risking Sookie so openly violated my agreement with her. Obviously I couldn't protect her during the day. Looking at her I knew she would go if I sent her. She would do her job but she would hold me to our bargain. To send her out during the day for the express purpose of finding information for me constituted a willful failure to keep her safe. Sending her into the heart of the FoTS added callous to the willful failure to ensure her safety. If she got hurt, whether by falling and scraping her knee or at the hands of another, she could walk away. That was the best end result. If she died or went missing, which was possible if not likely, Sophie-Anne would have my head on a spike.

The thing about desperation was that it made you do things you wouldn't normally do. I was desperate. Losing my head and the arrangement I had with Sookie was a small price to pay. Once Godric was found and returned safely to me I would work through everything else. The attack at the club comforted me. It told me that I was close to finding my maker. So I made the only decision I could.

The disguise that Isabelle provided would insure that Sookie was unrecognizable. Hugo had Isabelle's blood in him and she would able to track their movements if they found trouble and didn't return by night. I knew better than to suggest to Sookie that she take my blood. She still wasn't speaking me to. The fact that I'd agreed to send her behind enemy lines unprotected hadn't improved matters.

Once Isabelle had left the hotel room Sookie headed for her bedroom. "I don't have a choice," I called after her. "This vampire…he is important."

"I gathered that," she said without turning. "But we all have choices, Eric. You've made yours and I've gotta make mine." She slipped into her room and closed the door ever so quietly.

I wanted to growl at her but I knew she was right. I'd made the best choice for me, the choice that would serve my objective, the one that I could live with. She would have to do the same and for that I shouldn't fault her and although it was unreasonable I still did.

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**Yay! Double Scoops today! But wait! You have to review or the link won't work!**


	13. Not Close Enough

Okay, so if you are still here and didn't review you know the link works. :-) but if you reviewed thanks! It's great to know how my work is accepted.

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**Chapter Thirteen**

Something was wrong. Sookie and Hugo should have been back long before first dark. They weren't. I called Sookie's phone and got no response. Next I tried Isabelle. Even if she wasn't able to reach Hugo by phone, she would know if he had been harmed or afraid.

"He left me message in the day" Isabelle said once the lines connected. "Some jubilee thing, they are attending as not to draw suspicion."

That didn't placate me. Sookie's telepathy didn't need hours to find something if there was something to be found. So things were going superbly and there was nothing for me to worry about or they were very bad. I would know for sure if she'd left me a message as well or if she had taken my blood. She'd done neither. She knew the consequences of ingesting my blood. Minus being able to sense her emotions, it would make her horny as hell. I assumed that troubled her most.

"I'm going after them"

"We are not to engage those humans on their grounds, Sheriff." There was no calm in her voice. In fact she sounded panicked. Maybe because she knew I was coming to the point of not caring about the law at all. "To go to the church is forbidden" She stated firmly "We must wait"

"Two hours" I allotted. It was more like one but I didn't want to give her the chance to intercept me.

I paced the room once I hung up with Isabelle. Between pacing and fuming I tried to call out to Godric. That ever present wall of fog was still there, still impenetrable, still keeping me from my maker. I growled as my impotent fury continued to mount. My body was brimming with so much rage and fear and there was nothing I could do. The control I'd clamped over my emotions was cracking and I didn't know how long it would take for me to do something stupid enough to sabotage my own cause.

My pacing brought me by the door and I heard footsteps. I opened the door when they stopped in front of my room. I was confused and irritated by the unknown human before me.

"Sookie sent me." I dragged him by the front of his shirt into my room. I noticed his panic but I didn't have time for human speeds at the moment. When we were inside I put the width of the room between us so he would calm down and start talking. He cowered against the door for several minutes until his heart slowed. All the while I was stewing.

"Speak," I growled, "who are you?".

"First you have to give your word," he said. He wanted to sound firm but his voice shook and he was sweating, "That you won't tell anyone."

"Did Sookie also say I was a fool? I am not giving my word unless I know what it is for." He shook his head and I tensed. He looked more terrified but it didn't seem to stem from just my presence. "Does she know where Godric is?" I asked trying to get the only point I cared most about. He nodded. "Where?" I asked, moving towards him. Again he shook his head and shrank back as if trying to meld into the door.

"You have to give your word first," he insisted.

I could beat the information out of him but I didn't have the time. "You have my word on whatever it is you wish." If it was a favor, he looked too scared to ever call it in.

"I'm Barry, Barry Borowitz. I worked here, at the hotel. I met Sookie yesterday and…" He gave the door a wistful glance but turned to me and continued "She's like me or I'm like her."

I wasn't firing on all cylinders so I had no idea what he was talking about or how any of it related to Godric. Confusion must have showed on my face because he clarified.

"I'm a telepath." He whispered as if afraid the walls wouldn't hold his secret. A thousand years I'd walked all corners of the earth and hadn't met a telepath. Now they seemed to be falling out of the sky. "She sent to me," he said, tapping his temple. "She said she was being held prisoner by the Fellowship of The Sun in the church basement and the Sheriff was there too." He took a deep breath and continued. I was already moving towards the door with my phone in hand, calling Isabelle. "Hugo is a spy." That stopped me cold.

I narrowed my eyes and glared at him when his last sentence registered. "You are certain of this?" I asked. He nodded and tapped his temple again. There was no way he could have mistaken anything Sookie had relayed to him.

"He told them where Isabelle would be last night and told them what Sookie was. That was why he hadn't come anywhere near her until this morning. He set her up."

I never completed the call. I moved around at full vampire speeds getting dressed and stashing weapons on my person. I had already resigned myself to the consequences of knowingly and flagrantly violating Stan's law. Whatever the price was, I would pay it gladly. When I finally stopped the human was by the door where I left him looking awed and terrified.

"Come," I said walking towards him but leaving him room to close the distance. "You have done me a great service. I won't hurt you." I waved him forward. "Take my hand." He stiffened; clearly not keen on the idea. At first glance I thought him unwell. He wasn't. He had poor control over his ability, unlike Sookie. It left him a frayed specimen; trapped in the minds and thoughts of others. "It will shield your mind from others"

Slowly; cautiously he walked to me. When his skin made contact with mine he held tighter, the action almost a reflex. The tension in his shoulders eased. The furrow in his brow melted, his eyes closed momentarily.

"You do not want me tell other vampires of you?" He shook his head in panic but it was not enough for him to let go of my hand. "It is not as you imagine; Sookie will tell you. We would not treat someone like you or her the way we would mundane humans." There was no sense in lying to him and telling him it was raindrops and roses. He knew what vampires could be like if his fear was anything to go by. "We find much value in your ability and we are willing to pay handsomely for its use."

Even though he was afraid I saw he was considering my words. I wasn't human but I understood the basics of living things. The desire to belong was instinctive. No living being wanted to be isolated from that which they were a fundamental part. He would come to vampires and we would appreciate his gifts, not shun him because of them.

"Consider the fact that you would no longer need to repress your ability or live in obscurity. I have given you my word and you can hold me to it, but think about what I have said. If you change your mind I will be here until tomorrow night."

I pulled my hand back. The reluctance with which he released it told me I had him. No matter how much hell I raised—which would be a lot I was assuming—Stan would be forgiving if I gave him a willing telepath.

I landed on the roof of the church ten minutes mater. There was a ridiculous amount of activity for a church at this time of night, so Hugo at least hadn't lied about that. It could help because I could blend into a crowd. On the other hand it could also be a hindrance in terms of collateral damage. The easiest way inside was through a window but I found none that were useable. The main entrance would be the best way. On the far side of the parking lot I saw my ticket inside. A woman was exiting her car with her young child.

Faster than the mother could have blinked I lifted her child and wrapped my hand over her mouth to muffle a scream.

"Quiet," I said, capturing the mother's mind with my own. "It's okay. You are not afraid. I won't hurt you. We are family." I looked at her dirty blonde hair. "I am your cousin and I am visiting you."

Though tears had almost immediately begun falling when I seized the child, she nodded with an easy smile. I turned her daughter to me and repeated the procedure. I placed the child on my shoulders as I have seen humans do. I was tall and would undoubtedly gather attention, but with her on my shoulders my height would not appear as daunting. Nor would my hair appear as long. They were both laughing and I smiled as if absorbed in their chatter. Together we walked right through the front doors. I set the child down to begin searching.

Many of the people were excited. When I discovered the cause I almost flew into a rampage and killed every man, woman and child here. I was still contemplating the concept when someone shouted, "Fire!" In the same instant the blaring howl of a fire alarm went off. There was a mass exodus as people tried to scramble to find their friends and family members. All the while I could feel the heat rising, the smoke clouding the distance. It was far away from me but I knew there was a lot of it.

Vampires were extremely flammable, so instinct was screaming at me to exit but I couldn't. Godric was here and the thought that the humans had decided to burn him alive instead of force him to meet the sun filled me with equal parts despair and rage. I was moving deeper into the bowels of the church. All my senses were alert. I could hear a single heartbeat but that was all. My nose could not tell me anything more. The smoke was thick and only getting thicker. My ears strained and I heard…footfalls.

Before I could reach the door that would lead me to the basement it was kicked from its hinges and out came Sookie. She looked like a masked bandit. Her sweater was dripping wet and was tied over her nose and mouth and her eyes were bloodshot from the smoke.

"Hey Eric!" She greeted with a friendly wave. "Umm…so we should probably get outta…" An explosion cut off her words. It was loud and shattering and shook the foundation of the church. "…here," she muttered silently.

"Go!" The order came from behind Sookie. His face was shrouded in smoke but the voice was unmistakable.

"Godric," I whispered. Of their own volition, my feet moved forward. He was covered in soot but appeared otherwise unharmed. He lifted Sookie by her waist and hooked her to his side then he took my hand.

The first explosion was one in a series of many. It was like something in a war zone. Any human in the building would not have survived. From the safety of the clouded night sky I watched the church crumble in a ferocious blaze. The billows of black smoke hung in the air as a testament to what that place had really been. I could not bring myself to feign even an ounce of remorse.

Godric, Sookie, and I did not stop until we reached his nest in the suburbs of Dallas. The closer we got the more at ease I became. I had hopes of clearing out of Texas just as soon as I could manage. It wouldn't save me from violating Stan's law and the ensuing mayhem but I was really starting hate Dallas.

There were several vampires at the suburban home that made up the area's nest. If seeing their sheriff covered in soot and smelling of smoke was an unusual occurrence none of them showed it. Outside nods of acknowledgement no one looked our way as we entered the home.

"What happened at the church?" I asked. "What started the fire?"

I would need an explanation because there was no doubt that I was going to get the blame for it. Even if Stan would pardon me for neglecting the boundaries he'd set, the fire was whole other matter. It wasn't that I wouldn't have done just that. I hadn't and I had no idea how I could get Stan to buy it. To him it would look as though I not only violated his restriction but incited unrest by torching a church for revenge.

"That place was a V processing plant slash research facility slash armory," Sookie said with a shrug. "They had all kinds of things that like to blow up."

I think my mouth actually fell open. "You burned down the church," I whispered. It wasn't an accusation but she took it as one.

"Oooh," she mocked "You're gonna judge me? Okay fine. I'll just stand right over here and listen to a morality lessons from a vampire who was once a marauding Viking."

"I wasn't judging," I bit back, rising to my full height. From the corner of my eye I saw Godric enter the room but I was going to put Sookie in her place no matter what he thought.

"Okay you're not judging, you're accusing," she said. "Big surprise there." Her eyes were full of ire and the aggression in her stance was unmistakable.

"There are consequences tied to your little pyro act that you can't even fathom, consequences I'll have to suffer" I flashed fang and growled a warning, "Back. Off. Now" Of course she didn't.

"You know what? You can just take all that vampire shit and shove it."

"I brought you clothes," Godric said to Sookie, cutting off my reply. "You may use the bathroom through there. It is my private quarters. No one will trouble you,"

I couldn't read the expression on Sookie's face when she accepted the items from him, one of which carried his scent. Her furious sneer had evaporated but she was looking at Godric with something like sadness. I couldn't be sure. She accepted the clothes with a nod and a polite, "Thank you," and disappeared into the bathroom.

With Sookie gone for a few minutes I thought it would give Godric and me time so I could learn what happened to him. He moved past me, "I want to get clean." There was something in his tone that prickled. It was utterly unfamiliar. He moved back to me and claimed my lips in a kiss so mesmerizing that I couldn't remember anything but the feel of him. "I love you," he murmured against my still parted lips.

He was just tired, I rationalized. He looked pale and emaciated. That was what I was reading into. The attack by the humans and the days he'd spent no doubt hungry and tormented had left him feeling off.

"You look terrible, love of mine," I murmured running my thumb gently over the dark circle under his left eye. His face changed into a smile that I felt in my hand as it rested on his face. He didn't look up. His was leaning into my touch and his face was down, "Get clean and fed."

He nodded and headed for the door. I watched him go with a nagging, harrowing feeling. It wasn't tangible. It wasn't something I could explain. All I knew what that being this close to him should unlock a feeling that was reminiscent of those first years as a new vampire. I didn't feel it, even though he was in the same house less than ten feet away. The emptiness I felt in the bond we shared didn't fade.

He needed blood and the closeness that only blood of his blood could offer. "Come to me once you are finished," I called. "I will see to your needs."

I got another nod from him but he didn't turn from his steady exit out of the room, leaving me in his bedroom. On his bed I tried to let all the uncertainty of the past two nights fall away. I'd found my maker and he was safe. It was the most important thing. It was why I came to Texas and I'd achieved that goal. So why wasn't I at ease? Why did it still feel so wrong given that Godric was within arm's reach?

Needing to distract myself from my thoughts, I studied his room. It was no doubt the largest in the nest, but it was unlike what I'd ever imagine him living in. Had he not directed me here I wouldn't have assumed it was his. His scent was heavier here than in the rest of the house but not by much. He didn't spend a lot of time here, bedding humans or otherwise. It didn't worry me. He must have a more secure location. It was either that or he didn't spend any time enjoying the immaculately decorated space. The former was much more plausible.

The decorative tastes of the space were indeed indicative of his high status. The four poster bed was carved from solid mahogany and had a cherry red finish. It was draped in silken crème sheets. I could almost envision Godric's naked form sprawled out on it. His dark hair in contrast to the sheets would be dazzling. His hair was longer now and fell to his chin. I wanted to knot my fingers in it when I kissed him again. I wanted to rub my face in the bouncy curls as I buried my cock in him. With the erotic imagery I was getting hard and aching to touch him, to have him spread open for my pleasure.

The halt of the shower told me Sookie was finished. It did nothing to douse my lust, if anything it made it worse. When she came running out of the bathroom with an oversized t-shirt clinging to her wet body I watched. It was not until the panicked expression on her face registered that I realized something had to be very wrong for her to wear so little, especially around me.

"Gun! Duck! Get down!" with all the warnings of impending disaster, Sookie had a promising career as an emergency broadcasting system. This time as she ran from the room wet and half naked she shouted, "Everyone, get down! Suicide bomber at the door! Gunmen at the windows! Get down! Get down! Get the fuck down!" Tonight was the night was from hell. Her warning came a full minute before the reality and that is what saved the lives of the vampires. The house and some humans weren't as lucky.

Having a heightened sense of hearing meant that when things like explosions happen they more often than not perforated the eardrums. Knowing this, all vampires had their fingers in their ears. The explosion rang out and it was followed by gun shots. Once that faded an eerie silence descended.

"Evacuate to the Hotel Camilla," Godric ordered. He stood like a waif in the carnage but he still commanded authority. "Go now!"

Several vampires looked like they wanted to begin the hunt but they helped the wounded and began exiting what was left of the home.

"Come," I said taking his hand. He was staring at the place where the suicide bomber had been. There was nothing left but scorch marks on the wall and too many pieces of the corpse to count.

"My car is in the garage. The keys are inside," he said, averting his eyes.

"Watch over her," I said, nodding my head at Sookie. Her back was against the wall, her knees were drawn into her chest with her head on her knees, and her arms were wrapped around her legs. She looked defeated and stunned but mostly she looked exhausted.

Most of the vampires had left so the garage was almost empty. I knew Godric's car when I saw it. It was a Porsche Panamera. Getting into the car I realized it had never been driven. It felt empty and held no scent of him. It was as if it had just been sitting here. That wasn't right. Godric had always liked what was fastest.

"You should tell him," Sookie said. Her voice was soft and I could barely hear it. I'd already started the engine but the many decimated walls and struts of the house were helping to amplify my hearing.

"He wouldn't understand," Godric replied.

The first emotion I registered was jealousy. My face by all rights should have been a shade of green. He was mine and Sookie shouldn't know something about him that I did not. Then reason set in. Godric shouldn't be keeping anything from me. It…hurt. He should never feel as though I wouldn't understand his heart and a human woman he just met would. He'd barely said two words to me since his ordeal. He was talking to her…

"Knowledge is the first step towards understanding," Sookie said. She sounded sagacious and weathered.

That was all I was going to stand for. I maneuvered the car out of the garage and they were both waiting on the sidewalk. One of them was going to come clean. When they entered the car I turned in the driver's seat to face them.

"Tell me what?" I asked. "What will I not understand?"


	14. Hopeless

**Thanks for all the reviews from the last update. I loved it. Keep em coming! I think you guys will enjoy the double trouble...**

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**Chapter Fourteen**

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"I let them take me," Godric had said. "I knew they would end me."

When I asked the question I'd expected…anything, anything but that. I heard him continue to talk but I wasn't listening. I couldn't think past the fact that the information I'd given him had aided his suicide attempt. He hadn't used it to increase security, he'd taken it upon himself to be a fucking sacrificial lamb. The thought of it brought a burning rage to the forefront of my mind. He wanted to leave this world, leave me.

It was the longest car ride of my existence. In reality it was only about twenty minutes but the tension was stifling. I was suffocating. When I pulled in front of the Hotel Camilla I was relieved until I saw all the power players of the Texas monarchy. There were a dozen guards and they were surrounding a very furious looking Stan. It was very little surprise that they looked ready for war.

There has been a shootout in a night club, a church that had been razed to the ground, and one of his strongholds had been bombed. Many human lives were lost. It wasn't that any of us cared. It was the perception that mattered. He probably thought I'd been going on some kind of rampage. After three nights of humans trying to kill us, vampires get blamed for it all. Perfect, just fucking perfect.

"Sookie," I called. She was eyeing the front line. I was sure she would have been apprehensive if she wasn't so tired. "When we get to the door, go straight up to the room and wait for me." She looked at Godric, who was staring at nothing.

"Godric, what you said to me do not repeat those words to Stan," or anyone. There was still the chance I could get him out of this if that remained quiet. He said nothing. "Godric!" He nodded and we got out of the car.

Stan had taken up the top two floors of the hotel; it told me he had come back from wherever he'd been in a hurry. The minute the door to his suite closed he went on a verbal assault, which he was entitled to. I told him I went to the church because Godric was finally able to call me to him. I swore I didn't start the fire, which was the truth. When asked what started it I replied that I didn't know. Technically speaking, I didn't. "I shudder at what would have come if I hadn't hastily returned to mitigate the chaos" It didn't help that the local news was re running the fire at the church in surround sound; the reporter wasn't helping my case. "Three days and you have caused damage that will take years to recover from. You are banned from my state and…"

"Excuse me."

"What?" Stan snarled facing a mousey looking vampire.

"You need to see this," she handed him an electronic tablet and I really hoped it wasn't a headline of tomorrow's paper. Whatever it was it managed to penetrate Stan's anger. With a sideways glance at me he dismissed her. Then he seemed happy to ignore me.

"What happened?" he asked Godric, His tone was softer "at the club that night?"

My eyes were on Godric silently begging him not to say anything. He was being treated like a victim right now and that was the way I wanted it to stay. I didn't get my wish.

"I went willingly." An eerie hush fell over the room. "They would have taken someone who desired to continue: as I had no desire, I went with them." Stan's fury was back in full. His voice was deadly. "If it is destruction you desire then so be it," he hissed. He waved his hand and two guards appeared on either side of Godric and kicked his legs out from him.

My maker did not resist. His face was as it had been since we arrived: resigned. There was no thought behind my action. I snarled and flew out of my seat. I kicked one of the guards and he went sailing through the wall. I pulled the other to my chest and snapped his neck.

"You would _dare_," Stan said, rising from his seat. His fangs were fully extended.

Stan was smaller than I and at least three hundred years younger but a fight with him was not something I wanted. In terms of fighting ability he was not to be taken lightly and he was a king and I had forgotten myself in his castle. His anger was understandable. He had wasted so much time and limited resources searching for someone that didn't want to be found. Understanding his position didn't mean I cared. I would meet my end here with Godric if that was what it came to. I stood ready as more guards rushed into the room.

"Eric," Godric called in an empty voice. "I don't want you to fight." It was not an order that I had to obey but I had always obeyed Godric of my own free will rather than obligation. Not today, not when he was clearly so unwell. When we finally had a chance to exchange blood and renew our bond he will be himself again.

I focused on Stan who looked ready to fight and I put my hands up and bowed my head in apology. All vampires were like male lions without the scent marking. The mere appearance of subservience dulled the aggression in the air by palpable notches. It took away the instinctive need to defend territory and assert dominance.

I knew if anything could save Godric and me it would be Barry Horowitz, the telepath.

"I will give you a telepath if you release my maker into my custody," I said, looking at Stan from under my lashes. His expression flickered and I knew he wouldn't move against me.

"You cannot give me what is not yours," he said in a voice heavy with skepticism, but he could not hide his interest. "You seek to deceive me."

I shook my head. "No, your Majesty I do not. I know of another telepath and he is unclaimed."

Stan's eyes narrowed and I knew I had him. My words lost the urgency that had tinged them. I began to speak coolly and easily again. "He will be yours by right but only I know where he can be found and it is only me that he trusts right now." There was no longer anything on Stan's face but want. "A full pardon for my sire and me." Isabelle can go to hell and take that vermin Hugo with her.

While I bargained for his freedom, Godric's face never changed. His eyes were like I have never seen them. He showed no sign of hearing or caring about what was going on in front of him.

"You will take me there now," Stan said. "Then you will keep your life and that of your maker."

"Swear it on your blood and crown," I said, not trusting his words.

"If you lead me to a telepath that is unclaimed, I will allow you to keep the life of your maker and your own. I do so swear on my blood and on my crown."

It was my opinion that Stan believed that I was up to nothing treacherous. But he was a vampire and so never fully trusted any situation. He and four of his guards escorted me to my room where I left Godric. I was relieved that Stan also left two more guards outside the room. It would keep Godric there until I returned. I could not say with exact certainty what he was capable of at the moment. Once he was secure Stan escorted me to the meeting with the telepath.

The address Barry gave me led me to the outskirts of Dallas. The buildings were shabby and some of them were abandoned. The streets were filled with creatures looking to satisfy a wide array of urges from blood to drugs and anything in between.

"Is that him?" Stan asked. His people had gone ahead and checked the restaurant where we were supposed to meeting Barry. The two of us stood across the street and watched through the glass windows. I nodded in response. "What is the matter with him?" he asked. "He is not like yours."

I wanted to groan, the boy looked like a loon. Barry was seated in the corner with the hood on his sweat shirt drawn up. It was attempt to blend in but he stuck out greatly. He fidgeted and tried not to stare as the thoughts around him penetrated his mind.

"He is anxious," I said blandly as if that much was obvious. "He can sense the vampire minds." As I spoke Barry's head was swiveling to follow the vampires that were around the restaurant even though they were out of sight. Stan nodded. He did not question my word but it didn't hurt that I was being truthful.

"The way is clear Your Majesty," Farrell came to stand next to us. They all followed as I led the way into the dingy restaurant. At the door I stopped and turned to them. There were six of us all together. I knew enough to know Barry would most likely fall over at our advance. Stan did not need to be told. Only he, Farrell and I entered.

To his credit Barry tried not to flinch at our advance but he did not succeed. We all pretended not to notice. "This is my friend," I said to Barry gesturing to Stan. "He is King of Texas and is very interested in what you can do."

Barry looked at Stan who offered him a nod and an inquisitive look. "What is the matter with you?" Stan asked curiously. So he hadn't totally bought my analysis of why Barry was trembling as if he was seconds from a meltdown.

"I…" Barry began. He knew enough to speak when spoken to but he couldn't keep from sweating and stuttering. "Vampires make me nervous. I have seen in people's heads what they can be like."

Stan nodded thoughtfully. "You more than anyone can attest that monstrosity does not lie inherent to the species but instead with the individual." Barry nodded and his eyes slid past us to a man that just entered. To me he was humdrum like the rest but Barry shivered in terror and disgust.

"Can I hold your hand?" He blurted out. His face flushed and he looked down. Three hands were presented to him. With a timid smile he chose Farrell, who smiled. Barry's demeanor changed instantly from the contact. Well, seeing they were on their way to getting along swimmingly, I decided to make my exit.

"I trust you have sensitive matters to discuss," I began. "I'll just…"

"What did you see?" Stan asked, ignoring me. I wanted to leave but this had to be done to his satisfaction so I stifled my irritation and said nothing.

"That guy," he inclined his head as if he were afraid the man would take notice of him. "He kidnaps women or small men and takes them to construction sites where he works." Barry's voice was low and his horror was evident. Farrell played with his fingers and it seemed to bolster his calm. "He tortures; rapes, and kills them. Then he chops up their bodies and puts them in cement mixers. He likes to visit the places where their bodies are buried in the foundation," he swallowed back bile. "Like this one." Humans. Ugh. What was the reasoning behind that?

"I see," Stan said in a carefully understanding tone.

None of us cared. Human monsters were the humans' problem. If there was a vampire serial killer on the loose raping and butchering the undead and using our ash as mortar, the human police would do nothing to aid us.

"Here is my offer," Stan said after a silence. Finally. "You will be my telepath. In return I will offer you monetary compensation as well as protection. You may also come to the Royal Court." Barry was confused by the last part.

"It means you can live with us," Farrell said not hiding the fact that he would like just that.

"But I won't have to be anyone's pet or food?" Barry asked.

"Not if you do not wish," Stan said absently.

He was scribbling a number on a napkin and passed it to Barry. His eyes widened. Given that he had quit his job at the hotel in a panic of being discovered, this was a huge leap upwards. Stan was not generous but he was fair—barely. With the money he was going to make loaning him out to private security firms and other vampires he would make back Barry's salary many times over.

"That is the salary. When you have gotten stronger we will renegotiate."

Barry nodded and his cheeks flushed in embarrassment. There was no debating that his skills were useful but he had to hone them. Sookie could direct the flow and influx of thoughts that entered her mind. He was helplessly open to the minds around him.

"Sookie said she would train me."

"Good," Stan replied. "That will be arranged." The fact that Barry had taken initiative to make himself stronger pleased him. It meant that Stan would be stronger and become wealthier by proxy. Stan continued, "Assignments that require travel will come with a bonus of twenty-five percent with all expenses paid."

"What's the catch?" Barry asked.

"Just one," Stan said. "Loyalty. I am fair and I expect nothing less." There was no threat to follow but it was so heavily implied that Barry froze. He regained his composure and nodded.

"Okay, yes," he said. "I'll go."

"Yay!" Farrell exclaimed, beaming a bright smile at him from under his ridiculous ever present cowboy hat. Barry gave a brittle smile and even Stan smiled, barely. As far as asset acquisitions went this was fairly easy. It only made it very clear that being stubborn and difficult wasn't a telepath thing, but a Sookie thing. It really was just my luck.

"Not that I mind but you made a poor deal," Stan told me as we were leaving. He was mellow, almost chipper. You wouldn't have guessed he'd been ready to stake and bake me less than an hour ago. "Godric is weary of living. He wants to leave this world." I leveled Stan with a chilling scowl but he continued unconcerned, "Lingering as he has been doing is nothing but added anguish. If you truly love him then letting him go would be merciful. He is at his end, Eric." I made no response because he was wrong. Godric was just unwell. I turned my back and took off into the air.

Stan did not know my maker the way I did. No one else who walks this earth does. Godric has lived a long time. In that long existence there has been much he had regretted and much that he wished had never been. It happens to us all at one point or another. I was his youngest and last surviving child. I should not have gone so long without seeing him regardless of how well I thought he was.

But he was wrong to have blocked his depression from me. Had I known I would have come to him. Once we exchanged blood and had sex he would be better. If he wished it I would leave with him. We could travel and live like we did in the old days. He could come to Shreveport with me if that was what he wished as well. It didn't matter, he just had to live.

Back at the hotel Godric exactly where I had left him: In my room seated on my bed; staring at the wall. I knelt in front of him and began to unbutton his shirt. He looked down at me. He made no moves to stop me but the expression on his face was the same. Undeterred I held his face in my hands and brushed my lips lightly across his.

"Stop," he said softly. I sat on my haunches and watched his face.

I didn't want to be wounded by him refusing me but I was. Never before had he denied me. He'd always given me his body and anything else I desired of him. I beat the hurt back with the knowledge that he wasn't himself. The closeness of sex was not as important as getting my blood into him.

"We don't have to but you need the blood exchange," I said removing my shirt to allow better access to my neck. He shook his head.

I wanted to be patient with him but I did not know how to handle this. He was the person that made me what I was; how to calculate each of my moves and those of your opponent to get the most favorable outcome. He had showed me how to survive; how to feed; how to play the delicate game we were all forced to play. Here he was before me, a person I loved and idolized; defeated and broken by nothing but the mere passing of time. I could not understand it.

"You are not well," I began gently caressing his cheek. "My blood will help you heal."

"You think me mad," he said. There was no anger; no accusation; nothing.

"I think you are unwell," I repeated neutrally. "I think I should return to you for some time or you to me."

He smiled but it did not reach his eyes. It was just a curve of his lips that displayed his dimples and made him appear even younger. "So you can keep me living by force," he said. "Even if you could, why would you be so cruel?" he said, stroking my hair.

I pulled away from him; my calm was fading. He was discussing his end with me so casually. "It is not cruelty," I said, angry that Stan could be right. "Can you not see that you are not yourself? My maker, the master I knew would never say any of this." My voice was raised and I shook him slightly.

"The master you knew is gone and now the human I had once been is trapped in his body," he murmured. If I didn't think he was mad before I did now. He was fucking certifiable. "I look back on the past two and a half millennia with a human heart and the things I have seen and done…," he shook his head as words failed him.

Self-loathing and disgust was rolling off him in tidal waves. I had never experienced anything like it. Vampires didn't self-deprecate or wallow in guilt, especially over things they could not change. Such a thing was not practical and conducive to our survival. I had nothing to say so I just leaned my neck in closer to him.

Godric kissed my neck gently but didn't bite. He planted more kisses from there to my ear. I leaned my head further back. It had been centuries since we had had sex. But my body still reveled in his touch and remembered how well he could pleasure it. He wound his hands through my hair to apply the perfect amount of force. A groaned escaped me. He scooted back on the bed and I moved eagerly with him not wanting his body to break contact with mine. I was so relieved and excited that he was being receptive it didn't occur to me that I was being deceived.

"Be still," Godric whispered into my ear.

It was an order and the power that accompanied it was laden with his full authority. I had no experience fighting edicts because he never used them on me. Almost immediately my entire body stopped obeying my will and began to comply with his command. He disentangled from me and pulled on his shirt.

"No," The events of the past few days; my current helplessness; the inevitability of this settled and I sank into despair. There was nothing else I could do now but beg and I did. "Please, please do not do this."

Tears escaped my eyes. I was fighting the pull of his command but it was strengthening quickly. I reached my hand out to him but he turned away from me. That one act of rejection made me snap. I lost it.

"You can't do this to me!" I screamed. The more I fought his command the more painful it became but I was beyond recognizing or caring. I was gone, "I'm sorry. However I have wronged you, I swear I did not mean it. Just tell me what you want me to do. Please."The sharp crack of a bone and searing agony at my side told me I'd broken a rib. Godric stopped with his hand on the door and came back to me then. He stroked my hair but it was not enough. "Please," I begged. My eyes were trying frantically to catch his eyes but he would not look at me. A broken sob escaped me. Not once, not ever had he treated me like this, refusing me his eyes.

"What I feel for you Eric, love does not even begin to describe," he whispered. This was his goodbye. He was going to callously break a bond that had been sustained a thousand years. The pain the mere thought brought was crippling. I was sobbing openly knowing there nothing else I could do.

"If ever there was a time you loved me," I rasped trying to appeal to his guilt, "I beg you in that memory. Stay your hand."

"I know you do not understand and it is my fault" he said. I was still struggling but he was holding my body still to prevent me from hurting myself further. "I was wrong and I hope that I will one day gain your forgiveness."

"You have it," I said not knowing what he was talking about but hoping it would be enough to slow his rash actions. He knew it too because he smiled. It was as genuine as it was filled with sorrow.

"There is more to living in this world than survival and death," he said kissing my cheek lightly. "One day you will see." I felt him pull in a breath of my scent as if that was he would hold onto as the sun ravaged him.

"Live to show me," I whispered. I was desperate and clinging to any strand of hope I thought I had. "You swore to be all that I would ever need. You promised me, Godric. You promised." He leaned forward and kissed my head, held me in his embrace but said nothing. When his edict had fully settled into my body, making me utterly immobile, he left. I screamed wordlessly after him but he was gone. I snarled and cursed until my throat bled. It did nothing to free my body or return my maker to me.

Time slowed and with its passing my futile cries got lost. Nothing registered to me anymore as I lay there spent and dejected. I was just waiting now. Dawn would soon pull me under and I could try to fight the urge to fall into a death sleep. That way I could at least feel as Godric met his end but I knew it was useless. I was helpless against what I was.

It was exactly 6:04 am. That last tick was like a clap of thunder. It resounded all through me, all around the room with deafening finality. It signified freedom and so much senseless loss and pain. My body was free from the edict but it was replaced by another more powerful compulsion and I died for the day.

* * *

**I mean this time, seriously. If you don't you review the link for the next chapter won't work. **


	15. A Second Chance

**I really didn't want to but I felt bad for Eric. He just doesn't seem like that much of a jerk as he suffers through grief...**

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen**

I woke at first dark the next day with two purposes. One was to get the fuck out of Dallas. The other was to never ever return. I showered; dressed and hastily packed my bags. Out in the living room of the suite I could detect the scent of my maker, knowing it was nothing but a remnant. I ignored it and cursed this place all over again.

The lack of a heartbeat in the suite finally registered. Sookie was gone, again. I waited an hour but she didn't return. I checked her room. There wasn't any evidence that she had returned last night. What part of 'go straight to the room and wait for me' did she not understand?

I called her phone and of course I got voicemail. When has she ever made anything easy for me? This was perfect, utterly and truly fucking perfect. With her increasingly disastrous track record, a plethora of calamities could have befallen her. I didn't even know where to begin searching. She could have been abducted by freaking aliens.

"Fuck my life right now," I growled at the empty room.

There was still time to locate Sookie and make my flight if she hadn't gotten too far. I left the room and walked around the hotel in an attempt to pick up a trail. It was impossible. Places as heavily trafficked as hotels had thousands of scents. I had not made it off our floor when I caught scent of Godric. It was going in the opposite direction of the elevator.

It was plain stupid but I couldn't help but follow it. It wasn't just morbid curiosity. The part of him that lived in me had to see. I took the turn and ascended the stairs that brought me to the roof of the hotel.

The air in this tiny corridor was heady with the scent of him. Everything in me wanted to turn around. I made the mistake of pulling in a deliberate breath instead. It brought me to my knees. The pain was shriller than it had been last night. I could feel my heart aching, threatening to break. Tears were already obstructing my vision. I did not know how I would handle seeing his pile of ashes. He had done this because I had failed him. This was my penance for neglecting him. This torture was no more than I deserved.

I could see that the door onto the roof had been forced open. I stroked the door in the exact same place where he had hours ago. It took a few moments more to find the strength but I stood and pushed the door open. Godric had dragged his fingers over a vent that was immediately to the left of the roof's entry way. His scent clung heavily there. I did the same knowing I was only providing ammunition to torment myself with later but I felt closer to him as I touched it.

The shirt he wore the night before was caught between some rafters. It was blowing in the crisp night air. With shaking hands I reached out and gently plucked it from its place. I took it and held it to my face. It smelled like the sun. The same sun that taken something from me that I could never get back. I swallowed back sobs and burrowed my face into the shirt to let the scent comfort me.

I should be out looking for Sookie. I told myself once I saw his ashes I would leave. The problem was I was avoiding looking or even trying to scent out the pile. I didn't know how much I could take at the moment. The wind blew at the precise angle to take the choice away from me. I braced myself as the smell of the surrounding city blew across my face.

The smell of ashes was not something that could ever be mistaken. Death was not in the taste of the air. I pulled in one intentional breath after another. Even if a rain storm had blown by during the day I would still be able to detect the remains of my maker. I didn't. There was nothing to indicate a vampire had been burned by the sun up here. Hope filled me.

"You're losing it," I told myself. Grief was driving me crazy. I was seeing what I wanted to see. "He's gone."

If that was true then where are his remains? That question was voiced by another part of my mind. I couldn't see the ashes because I didn't want to my voice of reason argued. But you see everything else. This then led to me having a debate with myself. The back and forth continued internally for a few minutes. During which it came to me that even if I was crazy I was not yet lost. Perhaps Godric had exchanged this building for another? I looked towards the taller ones in the distance.

The next building I landed on carried no traces of Godric at all. Neither did the second or third. I was set to leave it when my phone rang. Before that instant I had all but forgotten about Sookie. At least the frontal part of my brain had. When I pulled the phone to my ear it was her name I spoke.

"No," I knew the voice and I felt it solidified my insanity as much it soothed the wounds in my soul. "It's me."

"Godric," I whispered, not really sure he heard me.

"I…I need you to come to me," he said. He was trying to hide it but I could hear some discomfort in his voice. The fact I could discern it meant he was seriously wounded. He was also using a phone instead of our bond. He had to be in very bad shape.

"Tell me where," I said interrupting him. I was moving to the side of the building getting ready to take off, flying would be the fastest way to get to him.

"American Airlines Center." he replied.

"Five minutes," I told him. "Wait for me," I pleaded.

"Yes," he said and then the line went dead.

The estimate I had given had been generous. I would be there in half that time. I leapt off the roof and pushed my body like a bullet towards the east. The stadium was in the center of Dallas. It was large but when I landed on the outskirts of the parking garage I found a trail to follow. It was troubling that I smelled more than one variety of two natured. It explained what had wounded Godric but not how he found his way here in the first place. I kept moving. Directly in front of a loading dock a fight had taken place. There was a lot of blood. Most of it carried the heavy tangy woodland smell of were; I could not say of what specific variety. Some of the blood also belonged to my maker. It was to be expected. If he had found trouble with mongrels close to dawn they would have been able to hurt him. There was a trace of someone else's blood that was familiar to me as well. It was Sookie. Even in its small quantity and in this wreckage I could identify it. I couldn't forget the scent of it.

I walked around the scene and tried to enter through a metal sliding door behind it. I knew Godric and Sookie had gone through it. It was probably what saved them. I could smell them and no one else on the secure entrance. My first thought was to rip off the door, but I didn't want to be seen destroying property with blood all about. I was a vampire. No one would believe I didn't do it. I also couldn't afford to irritate Stan further. I had nothing else to bargain with. Instead I knocked. If Godric was lucid enough to have called he might be able to answer. If not then Stan could kiss my ass because I would start some more shit.

My knock was immediately answered. Godric was leaning against the door frame to one side and Sookie was curled in a small ball behind him. His posture was protective, even as weakened as he was. I didn't stop to consider it. I offered him my wrist.

"Drink," I ordered.

My objective from last night had not changed. In fact it had been strengthened now that I had been given this second chance. Let's see him fool me twice. I would get him yet even if I had to force it down his throat, he would drink from me. The fact that he was wounded was a great opportunity. He would have to drink from me to be able to move and my blood would feed more than his hunger. It would cure or at least curb what ailed him. Godric didn't take my hand. He rolled his eyes knowing my motives.

"I will have to carry her," I said, gesturing to Sookie. "I won't carry you too if that's what you're after." I concluded reasonably.

"You don't have to do anything for me," Sookie said. "I don't need your favors."

Upon entry I just assumed Sookie had just been too wounded to move. She was bloodstained and bruised but she had just been asleep. My eyes went to her and I glared. She matched my glare and added a scowl. It came back to me then. She still had some reason to be upset with me. That felt like it had been a lifetime ago. Clearly she could hold a grudge. I knew it was a special allowance in my case.

We both watched Sookie as she tried to rise to her feet. First she rolled slowly to one side then she inched on her hands and knees. It was like watching a rusty lawn chair unfold. I didn't know exactly what had happened to her but Godric did. But if ever I have seen a creature in need it was her. If she could take three steps without falling then I would suck a silver stake for breakfast tomorrow.

"Honestly!" I snapped losing my patience. "You can be such a stubborn jackass sometimes!"

I didn't care if she was still upset with me. I didn't care that she would resent my intrusion. It was enough that she had ruined my chances of getting my maker to ingest my blood but I didn't have all night to sit and wait for her. If she had her way the end of time would find me here. I had to get us back to the hotel room and attend to Godric. As I reached Sookie she slapped my hand away and glared daggers at me. I sighed and prayed for the patience not to begin shouting at her. Despite her outward signs of hostility and bravado she was hurt and I wasn't exactly sure where. I couldn't simply hoist her up and throw her over my shoulder for fear of doing her more harm.

Godric looked between the two of us "Do you mind if I carry you?" he asked, "Just to the hotel?" His question broke the glowering contest between the telepath and me.

"Yes, I mind" I snapped turning my glare to him. He had lost a lot of blood and had not fed in I had no idea how long. Resting during the day had healed him but I didn't think he should burden himself with anything at the moment.

Sookie thought about it briefly. She must have either known that I was moments away from forcing her into my arms or she knew I didn't want Godric carrying her. Whatever the reason, she nodded her acceptance of the offer.

I hissed in irritation but they were both determined to ignore me and they did a fine job of it. It was as if the whole world was losing its mind. Together Godric, Sookie, and I made our way from the arena. Godric did not say so but I knew flying would have been a stretch for him. His need for blood was evident but he didn't eye the telepath with hunger even though she was cradled in his arms. He did look at her differently, strangely. I had not yet identified the emotion by the time we were settled into back into the suite at the Hotel Camilla. .

"Perhaps you should go to a hospital," Godric told Sookie as he eased her gently down on her bed.

"I've had worse." She was sitting up but was eying the bed as if the thought of lying down on her own power was a horrendous one.

"What the hell happened to you? You were supposed to stay in the damn room."

"Gee, you know I was going to do just that, but then I decided getting chased and beaten by a pack of werewolves was oodles more fun." She fanned her hand up and down her body, "Turns out I was right."

I growled at her "Your smartass attitude, really starting to piss me off. I much prefer the silent treatment." I'd assumed that's what she did when she was angry but apparently heavy bouts of sarcasm were also in the mix.

"So do I, anytime you feel like it, you can stop talking."

I closed my eyes and tried not to lose it. When did this woman go from the object of lust to being the source of my frustration? I guess when she didn't have sex with me. But even then I never could have imagined she could be half as infuriating. The fact that she was trying my patience didn't make me want her less. I came to the conclusion that I needed my fucking head examined.

"Tell me what happened." I spoke calmly, coolly even though my self-control was on its last leg. "Without the attitude, please" I even added a smile.

She snorted, "Mister, you haven't seen attitude," she retorted.

"Woman! So help you—" I thundered.

"I saw her from the roof top," Godric said. He looked down at her as if he was seeking her permission to continue.

There it was. I finally put a label to it. The way Godric looked at her was different that the way he looked at me or anything else. His eyes weren't resigned or laden with emptiness. He was looking at Sookie with an air of curiosity and slight apprehension.

"She was walking out of the all night bank not far from here when two weres began following her. She knew so she ran but they had been waiting for her. There was a car full of them by the hotel. When she got into a taxi I followed because I knew they would, as well."

"Why were they following you?"

"They worked for Newlin," she replied. "While I was at the church he paid me a visit and I got everything I needed to empty all his accounts. Regardless of what you think, burning the church was necessary. Now that he has lost his most powerful base and has no more money to fund his operation, he can cause no more trouble, well except spreading hate but there's nothing I can do about that."

I looked at her in open surprise. It never occurred to me that crippling Newlin financially would solve the drainer problem, mainly because it satisfy a craving for brutality. Even if it had, there would have been no way to do it.

"How much was the total?" I asked. It had to be well into the millions. The man had cornered profited from every dealing of vampire blood and he'd also cornered the supply.

"Close to six hundred million."

The amount of money should impress me and it did but I couldn't help thinking how many vampires had met their end to line his pockets. Most of whom were ordinary vampires trying to mainstream. The dollar amount meant even less because Godric would have been one of them.

"She gave two hundred million of it to Stan" Godric murmured. "That was why he pardoned you initially"

The telepath was going for sainthood. I would think she would at least like to see me suffer a little for forcing her to Dallas. Angry as she was at me the last thing I would have expected was for her to buy me a get out of jail free card. She really didn't care about money. Hell, for that kind of pay day I knew several people that would happily stab me in the back. She hadn't.

"It's his state. Newlin harassed him most not to mention what happened here the past three days" Sookie shrugged it off but wouldn't look at me. "I had to call Pam because I needed to get in touch with Sophie-Anne" I could insert the fact that I was right here and she could have asked me but I didn't.

"You gave her the rest?" I asked. That would solve a lot of the problems I'd caused in leaving home and insulting André.

"Not exactly" She said with a yawn that made her wince.

I wasn't sure if he realized it but Godric lurched towards her slightly. His hands clenched and unclenched but he moved no closer, as he continued the story for her. "Sookie wanted the balance distributed evenly amongst all the states that were hit the hardest by the bounty hunters. Her Majesty refused. It was then that I told Sookie that no one else had been informed of her findings except the vampires of Louisiana and myself"

Sookie shot me a glare. She had worked hard on uncovering all that information in an effort to help save vampires, everywhere. I had withheld the course of the action that would be taken with her findings because I'd guessed corrected. She wouldn't understand that it was a dog eat dog world. That explained her continued ire. I was giving her something new at every turn. I would deal with it later when I had a as to clue how.

"Negotiations deteriorated at that point" Godric continued with an admirable glance at Sookie. I can only imagine what that conversation had turned into. Sookie with her mouth and hard head and my queen. I had endless things to answer for "In the end Sookie granted Sophie-Anne a hundred and sixty, ten of it went to covering an insult of her lover to the queen's lieutenant" She shot me sideways irate glance that said. 'Thanks for nothing, asshole. I let it go without comment, mainly because I deserved it.

"Her majesty would also have to form a task force that would see two hundred million go to the tracking of drainer victims, notify their makers or next of kin and compensate them as well the kingdoms that were hardest hit by the bounty hunters. The remaining thirty or so went to a charity in the name of vampires everywhere to mitigate the chaos of late"

I was floored. I was looking at Sookie but she was busy trying to inch her bottom off the bed in a way that was the least painful. So she didn't notice or maybe she was pretending.

* * *

**That woman need a freaking cape! She is a super hero. **


	16. My Hero

**Okay this is the last one. I'll see you all Saturday...hopefully. Wait! rebecca.t. , thanks a million. **

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**Chapter Sixteen**

"I'll help you get clean and bandaged if you will permit," he offered, looking at a particularly nasty bruise on her shoulder.

"You got a medical degree?" Sookie asked with a sly smile but pain was furrowing her brow.

Godric looked as though he thought about smiling at her quip. No matter his interest, the depression and grief that had been eating at him was not easily forgotten. His reply was dreary but no less honest.

"I have broken enough bodies," my maker said looking away with something akin to shame, and his pain was back.

"So it means you can help," she replied trying not to wince as she attempted to stand on her own. Godric appeared directly before her and offered her an arm to ease her weight off her unsteady legs.

"Yes," he said, "I can help." This time he spoke with confidence and reassurance instead of sadness. I watched and did my best to make them forget I was present.

Godric helped Sookie into the bathroom that adjoined her suite. I heard water running and cabinets opening and clothes being ripped away. Once I heard Sookie whimper in pain but I fought the urge to check on her. Godric had not been exaggerating. He had seen enough broken bodies. He had specialized in interrogation of a variety of species. Many had paid for his services. He knew how to systematically dismantle the bodies of many creatures. He could keep a subject alive and under the most strenuous torture for longer than most had the self-control. It was like medical training minus the bit about 'first do no harm'. In any case he would undoubtedly be able to make sure there was nothing seriously damaged and he would treat what was wrong with Sookie.

I left the room to cancel the flight to Shreveport and then reinstate our stay in the hotel. Once I had taken care of that I had checked in with Pam and ordered Godric a donor. I would no longer force my blood on him for the moment but he still needed to feed. When I had attended to those matters he and Sookie still had not emerged from the bathroom. "So you're the first suicidal vampire I've ever heard of," Sookie callously began. "What's your story? If you don't mind me asking."

My face fell into my hands and I shook my head. She'd been so easily and effortlessly making him forget. How could she steer the conversation in that direction so directly? A wary thought I had was that she may be annoyed with him as well as me. After all she'd gone through great lengths and great made personal sacrifices to help find someone who did not want to be found or saved. Or maybe she was just curious. It was a tough call.

"Up." Godric said.

I heard water slosh as he cleaned her. For a long moment they were silent. I thought Godric would not answer her question. It was just then it occurred to me that I had thought he would. I had no idea why. He didn't know her well outside of two—well three—disastrous encounters. Still I was hoping he would. I too wanted an answer as to why someone that could have been a king amongst the immortals would want to end his own life.

"I'll guess," Sookie said. As much I wanted her to be silent I was curious to see how my maker responded. I wish I was in the room with them so I could read his expression. I remained still and attempted to let Sookie's tone clue me in. She continued without awaiting his agreement

"It isn't life getting to you but the price you have to pay to keep living it. It doesn't seem worth it anymore, does it?"

Her tone had softened with…was it anguish? It was such a twisted tangle of deep sorrow and air of hurt that I felt something stir in me. It was the sensation to protect her but I did not know how. I have never heard her that way before. Stubborn, defiant, bold, cheeky, but not like this. It made me realize there was no much I did not know about her and now I wanted to. No one so young and full of life should have reason to sound as she just did.

Whatever Sookie saw in her audience made her voice more certain as she continued. "Nope, life can't be worth living, not when you can no longer find that line you drew in the sand once upon a time. Not when you no longer know who you are or remembered what you once wanted outside of just seeing another day," she paused to give a bitter snort. At her words I was livid. "And definitely not when you can't tell friends from enemies cuz they all look the same now."

"It never stops," Godric whispered as if he were admitting an old dreaded fear. "It just won't end."

I ached for him. I truly did, but I didn't know how to help him. He knew I didn't need him, not the way I once did. It was why my guilt trip had no effect. He wasn't leaving me alone, not when I'd made two children of my own, both of whom still lived. This has been a long time coming I admitted to myself. Still I couldn't let it end like this. There were two people I loved more than myself. He was one of them. There was nothing I wouldn't do for him. I would go willingly into the true death for him. He wouldn't even have to ask it of me. I loved him that much. Seeing him like this tore at me because I couldn't save him from himself.

"Yeah," Sookie said in that same foreign tone, "You're right."

It had been my belief that she had begun with the hope of swaying his intention of ending his existence. He was curious about her. He might even favor her if he lived long enough. Sookie was doing the opposite. She was telling him his decided course was acceptable. If there was any mercy in this world Sookie would choke on her tongue.

"I am weary of it all. Over two thousand years, it is enough. I long to embrace the true death as an old friend after fighting to escape him for so long," my maker said in the same desolate tone he has been using since I found him in this godforsaken city. It made me walk toward the bathroom.

"So I guess I should be following after you," Sookie said, sounding thoughtful.

"Why?" Godric fired at her. He sounded horrified at the thought.

"You don't know me very well," she said with what sounded like a self-deprecating sigh. "You intervened earlier in what is getting to be a usual occurrence." She drew in deep breath. "Vampires love trying to enslave a telepath and don't get me started on the demented human folk and the two natured. Being a human who's forced to run with the supernatural is dangerous on its best day but I'm starting to see that it's exhausting. I wonder just how long I'll last until I lose myself completely to the madness around me. So I suppose I'll be you in few years."

"No," Godric said in a tone that brooked no argument. "That will never be your course even if you live forever." He sounded absolute in his declaration. Suddenly he had become the one that was attempting to give her a reason why living was worth the strife it brought. He absolutely did not know Sookie. She disagreed openly no matter how ill-advised it was.

"How do you know?" Sookie asked.

In me somewhere I had thought perhaps this had been a ploy to get him to see reason. It did not appear that way. She sounded eager to hear whatever response he had to offer. As if it would be of great consequence to her. Then it struck me. Would it? All she had said was true indeed. Would she truly be at her wit's end and choose to leave this world? That thought struck me deeply.

It was true that I had desperately needed her here in Dallas but the tactics I used in getting her to comply weren't exactly agreeable. Had I explained it to her I was sure she would have helped me willingly. I could argue that I did not have the time but in truth I didn't care to try. She was a human under my aegis so therefore had to do as I ordered. To her I knew I was now no more than one of the many vampires that she would long to escape in death. She had saved my life. She deserved more from me. Our association wasn't what I wanted it to be but I knew she deserved better.

For a few moments my maker was silent. I waited knowing whatever answer he gave her might be the only key to saving his life.

"I do not know." Godric sounded as though he was grasping at straws. I closed my eyes as he dashed my hopes. "I see you and I see a way to walk the line between what I am, what this life has forced me to be and who I once was but have long ago lost." I knew there was a smile in his voice by the way his next words came out. "You give me hope; wild, reckless, and senseless hope, that there might be a better way."

Sookie had me order two aspirin, a cheeseburger, a cookie, and a glass of milk. After her meal she wished Godric and me a good night and went to sleep. Godric drank from his donor without my having to prompt and coerce him. He knew I overheard his conversation with Sookie but if he didn't bring it up then I wouldn't either.

Godric was in my room sprawled on my bed. I hung in the door way just watching him. The blood he'd had had done so much for him. It was just enough to make me see just how much worse off he'd been. His cheeks weren't hollowed out anymore and the bruises under his eyes were gone. He was still paler and thinner than he should be. I crawled onto the bed beside him. For a while we were quiet. I was thinking of how best to get my blood into him. He appeared a million miles away.

"May I drink from you?" He asked softly. I'd always loved his eyes, envied them, even the roundness of their shape and the versatility of the coloring. It ranged from a burning celestial blue to a mystical electric indigo. The latter was synonymous with deep sexual energy and the former with his fury. His eyes were focused on me and they were dull, listless, and navy blue. They had left the wall and were now boring into my face. In response I leaned over and kissed his lips.

"You never have to ask that or anything else of me. I am yours."

He cupped my face and flipped us before I registered he'd moved. His smaller body was looming over mine and I felt the immediate response in my jeans. I reached for the tie of his pants but he took both my hands spread on either side of me. I was in a hold that I had no hope of breaking.

"I want you," I moaned bowing my back off the mattress.

"No, not while I am like this," he murmured leaning away from me. I knew he was referring to his depression. He wouldn't want to risk spreading it to me.

"I don't care." I would have happily shouldered some of his burden. "I want you."

He smiled. It wasn't much. It was just a slight curve of his full lips. "I care and the answer is no."

I nodded and he let go of my arms. My body was wound tight. I was tensing, bracing and eagerly awaiting the moment his fang would pierce my skin. Knowing I was making it hard for him to abstain from taking this further wasn't enough to stop me. I couldn't help grinding my aching, needy erection against him.

"I'm hurting," I whimpered. I knew he wouldn't deny me then. With a defeated groan he reached for my fly. He didn't spare the time to pull my jeans off, he just reached in and pulled my cock free. The relief and pleasure of it was enough to have me moaning his name. I felt the bond we shared spark to life and with it was a tidal wave of that poisonous sludge.

I'd thought I could handle his pain because I'd felt it during my search for him. What I had felt were mere scraps. It had been the little that he couldn't contain within himself. I stiffened and recoiled involuntarily as the full extent of his self-hatred, guilt, shame, pain, anger, and a cocktail of sickening emotions that I couldn't even identify washed over me. Everything that had broken him was there, attempting to creep into me. Before the cesspool could spread, he closed the port between us.

"Eric," he rested his head in my chest with his face in his hands, "Please, no I couldn't…" His voice sounded so pained and his eyes tortured. "Not to you."

"I am sorry," I was sorrier than he could ever know. Feeling it for less than a second by proxy, I couldn't fathom how he withstood it for however long he had been carrying it inside. "I am sorry." I ran my hand through his hair, "Drink. Just drink." I offered him my wrist.

He took my hand and kept it as he returned to lay on the bed. His back was against my chest, his head resting on my bicep and my other hand was draped around over his middle. He kissed my wrist then he bit. That point was normally painful but he was skilled. Practiced precision and speed kept me from feeling pain as he drank from me.

Long after he fed neither of us were inclined to move or speak. I'd been absorbed watching the metamorphosis as his health was restored. His hair, skin, muscle tone, and color was as it should be. Now, physically he was perfect.

"Will you return to Shreveport with me?" I asked.

"No," Godric said. "There are things here I need to do."

"Then will you come back to me?"

I wanted to press him for a guarantee. I wanted to help him find whatever it was that he was in search of. As I looked into his eyes I knew I couldn't. He was no longer resigned to die. That would have to be enough for now. The truth was there was no way for me to keep him living by force. I just had to hope that he would find what he sought.

"It is my wish," he murmured.

I didn't respond. We both knew that wishes weren't always enough. If wishes were horses even beggars would ride.

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**My little brother has gotten me into 'The Game of Thrones' and I am hooked. It began with Jason Momoa! I so wish there was a way to bring him back...sniffles...sighs...So blame this late update on him. **


	17. Changing Perspectives

Sorry everyone. I totally missed updating on Saturday. There were just some itty bitty things that I wanted to fix. I thought it was worth getting right event though it was late. So please except my sincerest apologies. As a token, here are two chapters for your reading pleasures!

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**Chapter Seventeen **

Godric was still wrapped in my arms when I rose at first dark. We didn't speak, not when we fed, not while he watched me pack. In the living room of the suite I found a note from Sookie. The note barely held any traces of her and it told me she was long gone.

_Sheriff, _

_Per our verbal contract and your subsequent breech, I have terminated our arrangement. _

_Sookie_

In case I might have any difficulties understanding plain English she left her work phone on the table next to the note. I'd expected it. I'd been looking forward to a face to face confrontation. It might have allowed me a chance to better explain, to change her mind and to apologize.

"She is gone?" Godric asked. He was facing the wall of windows that separated the room from the elements. His hand was pressed against the glass and he pulled in a deep breath as he watched the brightly lit city below.

"Yes," I replied crumpling the note and wishing I had a fire to throw it into. "She's gone."

The fact that Sookie had paid Stan and Sophie-Anne and given consideration to every other vampire king and queen was in a word, palmary. The fact that she had constituted all of that while under duress and pissed at me was the most incredible part. She'd thought of a way to get us—get me—out of trouble, while all I was doing was digging us further in.

Vampires would credit me with her acts. It would just be assumed that I'd concocted the plans, when in reality I'd been running around Dallas half out of my mind not caring about anything except Godric. Now I was going to return home looking like a fucking hero. Even if she didn't like the idea of having to organize a task force for the kin of bounty hunter victims, Sophie-Anne still wouldn't stop singing my praises for ages. I was her sheriff and I was going home as the golden boy of vampires everywhere. That thought shouldn't make me feel cheap. It shouldn't make me feel like I was wronging Sookie all over again. That was the part that bothered me most, because while it shouldn't, it did—a lot.

It rankled on a level that confounded me. This trip had caused a shift in my perceptions of the telepath. Sookie helped me preserve the one thing I wanted most. I knew without her Godric wouldn't be here with me. She got him out of the church. She'd encouraged him to tell me of his plans. She had, with her uncanny ability for trouble, bought him one more night and in that night she had reached him in a way I could not. All this she did with the clear knowledge that I was one of the many vampires who wanted to use and abuse her, who cared nothing about her except for her body and ability. It galled all the more because she was right.

Godric looked at me from across the room and his brow furrowed. He tilted his head to the side slightly like a curious bird. It was a face he made when he was trying to read me without the benefit of my emotions. I smiled and mocked his facial expression and the slant of his head. It made him smile as it always did. It wasn't his usual dazzling smile but I would take it.

"You like her," he said.

I snorted and rolled my eyes to belie my joy at such a small thing. I also felt like he was wrong but I didn't want to contradict him, so I went for a light mood instead "You've seen her naked. What's not to like?"

"She has gotten under your skin," he continued, his tone now speculative.

"No." I answered. "But I think that's what I would say about you."

What we had together was on a level beyond anything either of us could find elsewhere in our lifetimes. I wasn't threatened by anyone Godric took a fancy to, except Sookie. She was beautiful, but it wasn't just that. Their deep conversation aside, they seemed to meld on a profoundly and with frightening ease. He connected with her. I was jealous, I realized with disgust.

It wasn't that I didn't want Godric to have anyone else or because I wanted Sookie to myself. It was the fact that I couldn't sense his emotions and he was in darkness and I couldn't reach him. It didn't matter though. Nothing I felt mattered. Anything that took him even a fraction further from his consuming depression was a victory.

"Yes," he agreed without pause. "But you like her." he repeated.

I rolled my eyes and told him the truth, "She exasperates me. She is stubborn as a mule, combative for no good reason, infuriating as all hell and heaven forbid she ever does as she's told. Worst of all…" I said with a dramatic pause.

He knew me well enough to know how to fill in the blank. His smile had now grown into something almost familiar and for some reason it made want to weep for him all over again. It looked as though he had long forgotten how to wear the expression.

"She won't have sex with you," he concluded.

I threw my hands in the air, "Un-freaking-believable." He shook his head with his smile still in place, but said nothing.

A little while later, I was waiting in front of the Hotel Camilla. I'd been ready to leave Dallas since before I arrived. I'd just been so sure I wouldn't have to leave alone. The urge to ask him to return with me was strong. I didn't know where he would be going. I didn't know what he would do. I worried for him.

"I love you," I said. "You know this."

"Why?" He asked looking into my eyes. "How could you love me, Eric? What is it in me, aside from our blood bond, that makes you love me?"

The answer to that question meant a lot to him. I knew he was trying to hide it, but there was no hiding the shadow that clouded his face. The fear and uncertainty was all there.

"I took you out of selfishness," he whispered. "I stole you away from everything you have ever known. How could you love me outside of the blood that binds us?"

I smiled and shook my head because I knew it wasn't the maker/child bond. Blood was always thicker where vampires were concerned, but it wasn't all there was. When that was the case you had relationships like Lorena and Bill. She was Bill's maker but she didn't love him as evidenced by her knife work on him. He didn't love her by begging for her life and he certainly didn't love her by choosing himself in the end. It wasn't obligation that brought me to Dallas. It wasn't duty that propelled me to search for him. It was love.

I looked back, and in over the thousand years since my turning, not once had I felt mistreated or unloved, not even when the world separated him and me. I still felt it. There was nothing but the devotion he'd showed and the never ending love he'd given. He had always been indulgent, patient, attentive, and everything that it would take to win the heart of another. What he was trying to suggest—that I loved him only because I had to—made me angry. It cheapened all that was between us.

"Blood birthed it, yes, but it is my heart that sustains it." I held his face. "I love you" I repeated.

"And I you, Eric," he said stepping away. "Always."

It was on the tip of my tongue to ask him to come with me. Swallowing it back was the hardest I had ever done. It wasn't the knowledge that he wouldn't do as I asked that stopped me. It was the fact that he would. He would be unhappy but he would do it for me. I didn't want to do that to him. The thought of him hurting any more than he already was wasn't something I could stomach. I had to let him go and hope that he would come back to me when he was ready. I had to hope in his desire to hope and pray it was enough. I got into the waiting taxi and didn't turn to watch him as I drove away. I couldn't.

For the duration of the short flight to Shreveport I did nothing except focus on regaining control over my emotions. I'd been gone from my post and being distraught or distracted on any level wouldn't help me get back on task. Bobby met me at the airport. He delivered my car and put my bags in his. I had to get to Fangtasia. On the way over I made a call I knew I should have made long ago.

"This is Sheriff Northman," I said speaking to the Queen's secretary. "If it pleases her Majesty I would ask her presence on the line."

"Please hold."

There was the slightest pause as the lines connected. I'd been hoping the Queen would be busy and would return my call at her leisure, which could take the better part of a week. It was the norm unless there was a matter of great importance. Considering all the things she might have heard I knew she would be on the line in no time.

"Eric, I have been expecting your call." Sophie-Anne said. "Allow me commend to you on all that you have done."

"Thank you, your Majesty," I replied. "It was due mostly to the telepath."

She hummed a soft laugh. "I have heard very many things about your recent trip." Her voice held the faintest traces of a French accent. I was used to that. What I wasn't used to was the light manner about it. To be frank, it unsettled me. Seeing she had to deal with an angry Sookie I would think she would have been less than pleased because my telepath didn't know how to behave. Then again she had received more than enough money to make her forget all about that. "Some details are more disturbing than others. I desire to hear the truth of the matter from you."

Before I could jump into my rehearsed version of events she spoke. "You are set to travel with me visit my betrothed at month's end. We will speak then, at which time I will make the acquaintance of the lovely telepath."

"Of course," I replied neutrally. What else was I going to say? It wasn't like she was making a suggestion. That had been an order and since she was in a good mood she was dressing it up like a request. If I didn't answer her summons or failed to bring Sookie along there was nothing that would save the skin on my back.

I got off the phone and thoughts of Sookie entered my mind. It was starting to seem like I took one step forward with Sookie only to take two more back. Admittedly it was my doing. Her stubbornness and resistance to having sex with me aside, I didn't know how to handle her. For the first time since we met I was pondering the notion that Sookie was my equal. It seemed a little late for that realization because I'd pissed her off on a monumental level. I had to accept the fact that I was entirely out of tactics where this woman was concerned. It left me with only one choice. I had to treat her like she wanted to be treated.

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Four days after my return from Dallas I went to Bon Temps. I knocked, half expecting Sookie not to open the door, but of course she did. She wasn't rude or cowardly enough to leave me outside. For a few seconds we stared at each other. She was like a breath of fresh air. Looking at her, it occurred to me that I missed her. It was strictly physical. Her scent was unique and so was her beauty. Tonight she was dressed down; old sweats and a t-shirt but it did nothing to kill the figure underneath. I appraised her subtly trying to gauge her mood. She openly glared, sizing me up for a fight.

"Good evening, lover,"

"Evenin' Sheriff," she replied with a nod. Her southern twang leaked over the greeting, making it more welcoming than her frown. "What brings you here? I already got the check for the final assignment."

Two things I knew about Sookie that nothing she'd done had contradicted. When she was angry she called me sheriff. Also when she was trying to come off as detached her speech was a bit more formal. I was now on the receiving end of both. It went nicely with her body language, which was screaming, 'Fuck off.' She was leaning against the door jamb and her hands were folded across her chest.

I really thought I'd given her ire enough time to fizzle out, guess not. I came prepared to get myself into her good graces in any case. Giving her my most charming smile, I produced the flowers that were hidden behind my back. Her eyes went wide and she drew in an audible breath. For a second she just looked between me and flowers in disbelief. The bouquet was too much for my senses but it was appealing to the eye and it was having the desired effect.

"Thank you," I told her sincerely. "For everything."

I really couldn't list all the acts because that would make giving her flowers seem utterly paltry. But I didn't have anything else to offer her. The repairs on her home were finished and they gave the old place a lively look. There was nothing else that I felt she needed. She hadn't asked anything in return and that didn't shock me. This was a classic and simple way to show gratitude.

She eyed me but accepted the flowers when I extended them to her. "I was happy to have done it." Her tone had softened. "It doesn't mean I'm not angry at you."

"I know." I said. "And I'm sorry." She shot me a doubtful look, my second of the evening. "I mean that." I repeated. "I should have explained the situation, of who Godric was to me. It wouldn't have changed anything about my insisting you come with me, or sending you into the church. But I think it would have helped you understand I wasn't simply being a tyrant just because I could."

She nodded "Yeah, but I still can't come back to work for you."

"I didn't apologize because I want you to renew our agreement."

Did I want just that? Yes, of course I did, but it wasn't the reason behind the apology. It wasn't even a part of it. It annoyed me that she couldn't even trust that I wasn't up to something in this one instance. Then again it was my fault. With all our past interactions I'd had an agenda, an end goal and for some reason she'd always seen it coming a mile away. All my carefully planned tactics aside, there was nothing I could do to earn her trust. Even if I could, I no longer wanted to, because she was right not to trust vampires, myself included.

"Good, 'cuz we can't come back from this."

"I don't get it" I admitted I felt a growl building in my chest as my own temper rose. Seriously, I can't recall the last time I apologized to a human. It was probably sometime before the dark ages. Here, I was saying sorry and meaning it but she was still angry. "You understand why I insisted. You're not sorry you went. What are you still angry about?"

"I made a promise, that I would help someone and I broke it." Those words were pushed through clenched teeth as if she hated to admit the shame of it. Her anger was back in full and her eyes burned. "That is something I have never ever done in my whole life. The check you sent and the dollar amount won't change any of that. It won't replace the respect I lost. It can't buy back the trust I broke or the people that suffered. You made a liar out of me Eric Northman and I let you."

I wasn't the only one to benefit from her telepathy. I knew she helped wherever she could. It simply hadn't occurred to me when I was forcing her to Dallas. The fact that I'd forced her to break her word explained the anger. She strived to be honest and trustworthy. She was one of those rare people that still prided themselves on their name and word. It was something I found that I, too, could rely on; I had relied on it in Dallas when I felt like I could bank on nothing else.

I'd just assumed her job was the source of her resistance to the trip. She'd said nothing to contradict me but then again maybe she knew it would have served no purpose. Going with me might have been a matter of life and final death not just for Godric but for some other unknown person and that person hadn't fared well if her temper was anything to go by.

"That was not my intent." I began. "I will make amends by clearing your name with…" I didn't know whom she'd obligated herself to this time. I really hoped it wasn't the Were panthers again. That would have been a hard pill to swallow but I would do it to her satisfaction.

She gave me a flat out suspicious expression. "You would do that?"

It wouldn't be just to placate her. I would kill for such an infraction on my reputation. I understood her anger completely. Knowing what I'd cost her and the lengths she'd still gone through made my offense that much more glaring.

"Yes," I replied. "You are owed reparations."

She gave me one of her trade mark derisive snorts and there was a smile creeping on her face "I forgot about that." She looked at the flowers and the last of her aggression seemed to fade with a deep exhale. "Having a vampire show up on the door step of an elderly couple that just got their life savings swindled might not be a good idea." she shrugged. "I'll just put you to work since I already used the wages from that job to cover their losses."

Hearing her say she'd given away forty thousand dollars should shock me. I shouldn't even believe it but considering that she gave up nine figures a few days ago it sounded about right. "I do manual labor and in return, you drop the grumpy grizzly act?" I teased, following her into the house.

She rolled her eyes at me but her smile was in full bloom, "Consider yourself lucky you didn't get mauled."

"Lover anytime you get the urge to put your mouth on me, go for it."

"Guess I walked right into that one, didn't I?" she muttered under her breath. I chuckled but said nothing.

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**A big thanks to all of you who take the time to review. Writing is a lot of work and those little words make it all worth while. With that said, enjoy the next chapter...I know I did. **


	18. Catching Your Kill

**A great big thanks to my super hero Beta! Rebecca. t. p. wrecker. If you have been waiting anxiously wait no more. There is citrus goodness below!**

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**Chapter Eighteen**

The next two hours were spent helping Sookie move things around in her home. The attic was cleaned and all manner of things were divided into separate piles. She'd begun the process earlier in the day and had to take a break that turned into a nap. I couldn't blame her. There were several trunks, an old desk and chair set, and a dress making mannequin, a rocking chair, and just all kinds of junk—at least that's what it looked like to me—and it spanned several generations.

Sookie was heating me a blood for me, not that I asked. I knew she thought she was being gracious but I was suspicious she was being cruel. I accepted because she'd gone through the trouble but I was looking for a plant to dump the contents of the bottle into.

She watched me with a frown from the bottom of her steps. "I'm seriously jealous."

I had just flown the last items down stairs. They were two huge trunks. Their weight, like everything else I'd transported, was negligible for me. Seeing I flew I was able to avoid the normal perils that came with maneuvering heavy things down steep steps. She must have really thought this would have been work for me. It wasn't.

I smirked and it was more than a little haughty. "Where is your roommate Terry?" This was the kind of thing that he should be doing for her. It wasn't that I minded the chore, as far as reparations went I was getting off easy. I was merely curious. The house was losing the scent of the other human and his dog.

"He's moved in with his girl—fiancée." Her face was breaking into a radiant smile, the one that seemed to light the area around her and draw me closer. "They're going to get married and have a baby. Though not in that order."

For some reason the conversation she had with Godric entered my mind. I wondered what it was she wanted before she'd just wanted to live to see another day. The life her roommate was going on to have might be it. I was curious if she knew as well as I did that that her life would never be her own, not really. I wondered if that was what had made her sound the way she had.

"Did you ever want that?" I asked "A husband, children, and the normal human life?"

Her smile grew as she answered, "Yeah." A far off look washed over her, kind of like someone reliving a happy memory instead of their broken dreams. "A man who loved me and told me so every day, and we'd have a handful of kids, four boys just like him and a baby girl that had him wrapped around her finger," she chuckled. "And we'd have a dog and a humble home, maybe not with a lot of money but with lots of love"

"That doesn't seem like much," I murmured "Yet, no man has ever tempted you to share that with him." She was beautiful, smart, caring, generous, and loyal. Any human man would be lucky to have her to share his life with.

She turned to me with a baffled expression. "I'm a telepath, Eric." She said it as if I'd forgotten.

I had indeed forgotten. How the hell did that happen? I knew who I was with but what she was had fallen into background and had been there for most of the evening. While we worked we'd talked about Dallas in detail. She knew not to tell me of the conditions in which she found Godric and I didn't ask. She didn't ask where he was, though I saw the question in her eyes. I didn't answer because I didn't know. I told her about the mandated meeting with Sophie-Anne that we both had to attend. There had been no argument that while she no longer worked for me she had to take work for the Queen. Those assignments would be fewer and farther apart.

More than once I'd to tell her to spare me the horrors of her singing while we worked. Each time it had only made her sing louder, which for some absurd reason made me laugh. I suppose it was her way of getting back at me for all the times I made her blush with some lewd comment or another. I told her about Bubba and she'd begged an audience. I'd agreed. It was such a little thing and she'd already done so much. Otherwise the silence we shared was companionable.

"It's getting late," she said.

I eyed her and a few remarks ran through my mind. Most of them involved telling her all the ways I could make her night end much more pleasurably. I bypassed all of them and kissed her. I was deliberately slow in reaching for her, one step at a time, my hand cupping her face, my head leaning down. I wanted to give her a chance to move. I was done trying to push her into something she might not want. She didn't resist.

There was something about the mere taste of her lips that took my want for her and turned it into a raging need. I hadn't had contact with her in a while and it hit me all the harder. There was a second of resistance and then with a defeated groan she gave in to me. She drew up on the tips of her toes simultaneously her hands wound around my neck pulling me closer still.

The kiss was no longer testing and enticing, it was turning into something that had been coming for a long time. I growled trying to decide the fastest way to get both of us naked. I knew this was what I'd been waiting for. The way she kissed me told me she would yield.

"One night, Eric," she murmured kissing the hollow beneath my ear. Her hands slipped under my shirt and were lying flat against the sculpted planes of my stomach. I moaned and shuddered against her. My grip around her waist tightened instinctively, molding her closer to me. It brought relief but it wasn't nearly enough. I could feel how hot she was, the scent of her desire was thick in the air and I wanted to be inside her. She pulled away and her eyes were boring into mine. "That's all I can give."

I nodded. "It's all I want." I barely recognized my voice. It was so throaty and breathless I couldn't be sure she understood me.

"Wait." she said. "I need a shower."

"I'll join you."

The heat from her body had intensified, her arousal increased to the point I was fighting down my desire. It would just be for a little while longer. I held her to me and kissed her until she begged for breath. I pulled her up and she wrapped her legs around me. The path from the kitchen to her bathroom was littered with clothes. I pressed her against the wall and pulled off my shirt and deftly slipped out of my jeans. I had been hard from the second she kissed me. Freeing my cock gave me relief that was so immediate it was almost painful. It produced a slight moan that was lost in the taste of her lips.

The fact that I had had the most beautiful female and male creatures the worlds had to offer should have made the reaction to Sookie's nude body less extreme but I was blinded. As fate would have it I was still man enough to have my reason clouded by a woman even after over a thousand years.

Right now, at this very second, was when I made the greatest mistake in the list of many where Sookie was concerned. I just didn't know it and I wouldn't until it was too late. When I looked back at this moment a year and a half down the road with a clearer head I would know I should have walked away then and there and stayed the fuck away.

Right now, feasting on her naked body, nothing else mattered. We had made it into the bathroom. She was in the tub under the fall of water just as naked as I was. I watched entranced. Her eyes had a look in them that I knew no one else had ever been given, they were yearning and smoldering. My eyes raked greedily over her and I felt something in me unhinge, something primitive and dangerous.

I drank her in and became a slave to thirst and hunger so primal I would have killed to satisfy it. The force of it rooted me to where I was with my fists clenched. I wanted to feast on her flesh; to taste every inch of her skin. I wanted to bury myself in her so deeply and so furiously I didn't want to know where I ended and she began. I wanted to quench both my burning thirsts with the cream from her sex and the blood from her veins. I wanted it all, all at once and all right now.

The steam was rising in the air and the scent of her sweet arousal clung to it, making her flavor almost palpable on my tongue. She washed and I watched until that became too painful and I had to join her. I was sure I had found enough control not to hurt her by being too rough. "Your breasts are spectacular," I murmured. To let it go unsaid would have been a crime. They fit so perfectly in my hands.

Her pebbled buds were aching for my touch and I obliged. I sucked and pinched and bit gently but ravenously. The time I had spent on those perfect breasts had taken the edge off my hunger, but I was still thirsty. She seemed surprised as I began my descent down her body. When I passed her navel she stilled.

"You don't have to do that," she said breathlessly, but sounded embarrassed.

There was a sly smile on my face. I held her eyes in my own as I continued past her navel. Our eyes were still locked when I took my first taste of her. She gasped and I moaned. She smelled better than any human I had encountered in a long time but even so she tasted better than any one should. My aim was now to give her incentive to offer herself to me again. I knew this one encounter would not be enough to have my fill.

Sookie threw her head back and closed her eyes.

"No," I nipped at her thigh where it lay over my shoulder. "I want you to watch me taste you."

She tried to do as I asked but she couldn't help her eyes rolling into the back of her head or throwing her head back when she came. Her body arched against the tile and she was writhing helplessly, thrusting herself into every flick and swirl of my tongue against her clit. Her hips rose to greet me as my fingers worked to stretch her. Her knees shook spasmodically. Her fingers were fisted in my hair and her bottom lip was trapped between her teeth in an attempt to keep from crying out every time her pleasure overtook her. Unlike the hunger to be inside her, the thirst to drink in her pleasure increased with every mewl of pleasure she uttered. It consumed me as I devoured her sweet, sweet core. I drank in all the juices from her steady flow of orgasms as the warm water washed over us both.

Moving to the bed had been necessary only because the temperature of the water was dropping and I knew Sookie would be uncomfortable. Nothing would have given me more pleasure than to pin her to the wall and pound into her. My cock was throbbing, demanding attention, and I wasn't sure how long I would last.

"Am I your first?" I asked. I was quaking all over with the effort of restraining myself. Her innocence or lack thereof wasn't something I'd thought of since I'd asked. She'd been contradictory. One minute a fiery vixen, the next a southern belle. I hadn't cared. I simply wanted to be inside her. I'd registered the gauche way she moved when I touched her. My body was now aligned with hers and I felt a slight tension in her frame.

"Yes," she replied. "You'll only hurt me for a second and then it'll feel good."

I smiled and nuzzled her neck. "I'll make you feel more than good."

I couldn't be as rough as I liked. I had to give her untried body a chance to adjust to me. It should have been frustrating for me that I couldn't use my usual technique. It wasn't. I would make this unforgettable for her. It was rare that I called upon all the skill I had where women were concerned, the basic was more than enough. With Sookie, I would unleash all my expertise. I wanted no other to ever be able to compare.

"Relax for me, lover." She'd tensed and I didn't want that.

I wanted her half out her mind with need for me. I wanted her pliable and fervent. Her body was more than ready and willing, I wanted her mind away from the pain that would come. I kissed her, deeply, passionately. Her tongue dueled with mine. It wasn't a play for dominance, it was simply her eagerness matching mine. A low moan escaped her as the last of her anxiety faded. Her hands went into my hair, holding me closer, her legs parted wider to cradle me and her hips were tilting and surging up in desperate invitation. It was driving my need to a fever pitch. She became quite wanton, more than responsive, almost more than I could stand in this state of mind.

"I can't wait anymore," I groaned.

"Don't."

Too long have I chased her, too long had I imagined how she would feel splayed out like this for me. It left me with so little restraint. The fact that she was a virgin pleased me. Despite how much I'd prepared her I knew there would be some pain. I claimed her lips and pushed into her to the hilt all at once. Both the girth and length of me were sizeable. I could feel her tight hot glove stretching to take me. A shiver of pure bliss ran up my spine.

She bit and dug her nails into me to channel the pain I caused. That in turn caused a noise that was somewhere between a growl and purr to escape through my clenched teeth. I caught the faint scent of her blood and tried to think through the haze that was fast clouding my mind. With the heady musk of sex in the air, adding her blood to the mix made me want more than she could give right now.

I refrained from thrusting into her. It felt like I would shatter into a million pieces from the strain of it but I waited for her to move. I repeated the motion and although I was slow I took myself as deep as her body would allow. The noise that escaped her wasn't one of pain. Her hold went from anchoring herself to me to holding me.

Over and over I slowly pulled out of her gushing sheath until just my head was teasing her, then I entered her again. She fisted me like a vise when I withdrew and sucked me deep into her core when I entered. The motion of my body invading hers was rhythmic, hypnotic. I felt myself losing hold of everything I was. Nothing else mattered but the peak that we were climbing. I hiked her thigh up and delved even deeper into her depths to get here there one more time before I could follow.

"Eric…I'm—" her breath left her as I reached down to rub her clit.

"I know," I crooned, watching her face. I had her in the throes of passion and her beauty was heightened. It was raw and unadulterated, arresting and uninhibited. She was open for me and her body could withhold nothing. I didn't want her to. "Come for me, lover."

Her head was thrown back and her fingers were clenching the sheets. Her moans were mounting into screams. It wasn't a marker for pain. I savored the sounds of her unraveling in my hands, all over again. Her legs shook as her pleasure peaked. I let myself go because I couldn't fight it any more. I had lost count of her orgasms but mine raged with a crippling force. It was debilitating and forceful. There was nothing to do but ride it out.

There had been a savage growl building in me but once I reached that peak it died abruptly. I made no noise whatsoever when I found my release. My entire body seized and all my senses except touch failed me. I tried to fight the haze that had taken hold of my mind but I had temporarily taken leave of my senses. It was what caused me to bite her. I hadn't planned on it. I knew she wasn't keen on it. She'd reduced to my basest instinct. I had to bite.

Her blood filled my mouth and it caused another orgasm to start before the first finished. It continued to rage and I was utterly lost in it. I thought the pleasure of it would end me, my head fogged, all my senses except touch and taste clouded. It felt so good it hurt. I never understood that sentiment until right then.

Sookie's blood was so much sweeter than her scent suggested. It was rife with endorphins. The high it created was like nothing else I'd ever experienced. I didn't even drink. I couldn't function enough to pull on the wound. It was all I could do to hold on to my consciousness. I clung to her helplessly and shook with the force ravaging my body.

"Perfect, just perfect," I mumbled. That was all I could conjure when I was able to speak again. We were still joined but I couldn't move yet. She was bearing most of my weight but she didn't seem to mind. Her fingers were running through my hair and rubbing my back to keep me grounded.

If I needed the respite, I knew she needed it more. She got exactly ten minutes before I began touching and kissing her again.

"Some of us have to breathe," she said trying to escape my grasp.

"I can always come back tomorrow," I murmured, kissing the place where I bit, lapping lazily at the wound. She shivered and her protests slowed.

"This is for one night only. Get it out of your system."

I grinned. She gave up the fight and was parting her legs for me. Tasting her was what I wanted most and I indulged myself. I was right, she was a thrill in bed. Her body was nimble and lithe under mine. She met the hardness of my body with the heated softness of her embrace. Her lack of experience did nothing to compromise the raw sexiness that she emanated. I was relentless in the pursuit to give her more pleasure than she could handle. I wanted her to know what she'd been missing. I wanted to ruin her for all other men. Tears escaped her eyes, her mind was gone, her body exhausted and sore, but she begged me not to stop. I didn't because I couldn't. So I continued to bring her more rapturous delights than she had ever known.

Finally, I halted my assault and Sookie lay utterly spent partially on top me. Faster than I would have thought possible her breathing became deep. My body was also drained but I still wanted her. That first orgasm she'd given me was the most powerful I'd ever had. I was chasing it and each time I reached the pinnacle, it was just as strong as the first. This one night wouldn't be enough. I wanted her body all for my own. I was already itching for the next time.

I couldn't keep from touching. My strokes were light and innocent, with my fingers following the beautiful contours of her face, running through her hair. I loved her hair. The feel of it was lush and full; the ringlets followed a natural billowing pattern. It smelled like apricots and cream with a dash of sunlight. Even in the fading heat of autumn the sun her hair still held fairer color of summer, still like spun gold only brighter. I nuzzled her neck, breathing in the scent of us, purring in delight at the unique aroma.

"Eric," she sighed and cuddled closer into my side.

"Sleep lover," I murmured, caressing her cheek and wrapping my other arm around her. I knew that no matter what she'd said there would be a repeat. I wouldn't even have to initiate it. She would come to me.

* * *

**So...I'm wicked exited do you guys think Eric is right? Will Sookie come chasing him for more? hmm...I can say but I won't! **

**I'm also dying to know what guesses anyone has for that little bit of foreboding I threw in. **


	19. Not Quite

**Chapter Nineteen**

I'd been so sure Sookie would have invited me back by now. She hadn't. It was the fourth night after we made love and she hadn't so much as called. I could go by her house but I had no reason to, believe me I've been thinking. But I had nothing, there was no offense that needed to be assuaged. I had no news from the Queen. Her travel for the visit to Arkansas had already been arranged. I did not see myself having to chase her, not after the way she begged me while we were in bed, not after she had more orgasms than her body could handle.

I was somewhat agitated as I made it onto the main floor of the bar tonight. I sat as I always did and monitored the activity level in the bar. With Thalia still gone I needed to make sure the humans were getting their money's worth of vampire appearances. Tonight would be a night when I was able to do something else with my time but I was taking the place of my insolent child on the floor. It did not improve my mood. With every hungry stare a woman gave me, my sexual frustration climbed a few notches.

I needed to fuck and I needed to feed. I scanned the bar and found a woman that looked promising. I singled her out because she was blonde. It was a start. That was all I got. Her eyes were green and she had on clothing Band-Aid of a dress. When she walked close enough, I pulled in her scent and it was too repugnant for words.

"Pam," I said barely speaking over the volume in the bar. It took several minutes because she was busy but eventually Pam materialized at my side.

"You rang, Master," she drawled.

Some nights Pam was the perfect child and some nights she was a pain in my immortal ass. Tonight was one of the latter. The problem was that Pam was bored damned near to final death. She really could take over the world with her intellect alone. She was here because she wanted to be close to me. So here she was, in a vampire bar in Shreveport, Louisiana, enthralling the vermin, as she so eloquently called them. I felt her pain but money didn't make itself.

"Have you heard from Sookie?" I began casually. I knew they shared a friendship but I had no idea how deep it went. I tried to let Pam have as much of her own life as possible. I also knew it might grant me an in if I ever found myself in need. I was in need.

Her face lost its boredom and she sat on the arm of my chair. "Yes," Haven't you? She didn't say it but it was there in that single word. My lack of response told her the answer. "She asked me to be her date for her Terry's wedding and I said yes."

"When did she ask?" I asked.

"A week ago," Pam replied. "We shopped for dresses yesterday. She needed some for her impending trip as well."

I had no idea what to make of that. I knew that Pam favored Sookie. I just didn't think it was more than the trivial or physical. My child rarely found people she liked, either vampire or human. Sookie seemed to hold appeal for everything that got close enough, with or without a pulse. Their friendship made sense from that light.

I nodded and waved Pam away. She didn't go. She slid onto my lap. She watched my face and she knew there was something more but she didn't know what.

"I hate when you stare at me like that," I said. "It's creepy." She didn't avert her eyes. Her cobalt gaze didn't waver. They stood against her porcelain skin like glass orbs. I blew on her face to kill the intensity.

"Do you not want me to go with her?" she asked rubbing my face gently. I leaned into her touch and smiled. "Do you want go in my stead?"

"No and no." I replied lifting her from my lap by her waist. With Pam it was best to go with the truth. She could sniff out a lie and she would ask relentless questions that unveiled the truth, even if they went unanswered. "I was just wondering."

Pam left me in peace but I knew she knew. In this instance she spared me and said nothing. I wasn't sure what bothered me. It could be the fact that Sookie hadn't thrown herself at me. Or it could be that she was content to ignore me fully but associate with Pam. Both prospects annoyed me equally. There was still no way she had meant what she said. I didn't want to contemplate that. I would wait her out. That night I took on a fangbanger who did nothing to assuage my hunger. She did however ease the tension that was teeming in my loins, if only temporarily.

Day twelve and still no Sookie. It was how I found myself on her door. It was the night before the flight that would ferry her to Arkansas. That was reason enough. I'd lost count of the women I'd touched since our encounter. All I knew was none of them, no matter how skilled, brought me that same blazing release.

"Hey Eric," she greeted.

There was no reservation in her smile. She was treating me like she did before we had sex. I only spared a moment to notice it. I crossed her threshold and kissed her. This kiss was demanding and it held all the desperation of a man on fire. I wanted her. I wanted her now and she gave in to me. The feeling that I had been chasing was right here. It was like having a cloud of lightening unfurling in my arms.

Sookie wrapped her legs around my waist and I only got us as far as the couch before I had to stop. I needed to touch all of her. The clothes covering her body were seriously interfering with that objective. When she ground her hips against me, the feel of her feminine heat had me aching so badly. My needy groan mixed with the noise of her shirt tearing and the increased rhythm of her breaths.

My lips were on her neck and the thrumming of the blood in her veins was calling to me, but I wanted the heat between her legs more. I nipped at her ear and teased the lobe with my tongue. Her body went utterly pliant. Her back arched, thrusting her breasts upward. Her body seemed to burn hotter, smelled better, felt softer, so much so than everyone I'd been using to tide myself over. Just having her this close was enough to make me come.

"Eric," she moaned. "Eric, stop." That was what I thought I heard but that couldn't be right. My hands were fumbling to unclasp her jeans and that was taking every single brain cell I had. I felt her pull away and her words registered. "Stop."

She tried to fully disentangle her body from mine but I didn't let her. I couldn't. "I don't want to," I said grasping her thighs and moving them against me again. She felt my rock hard erection as it pressed more firmly between her legs. She moaned. "I am your only lover." I continued. Her body couldn't lie and neither could she. I looked into her eyes and I saw the truth of my words. "I know you want me."

That was the wrong thing to say. She went rigid and pulled as far away as my embrace would allow.

"That right there is the problem." Her hands had been braced on my chest but now they ran through her hair. She fisted the strands in a show of frustration. I didn't think it to be one of her 'tells'. Then again I had never really seen her so torn. "I want you and I can't afford to."

The utter duress on her face bothered me. "I don't understand," I murmured. I loved her hair and she looked in danger of pulling it out. I reached up and rubbed her wrists to get her to let go. "I can provide for you. I can keep you safe. It would cost you nothing to be my lover."

She smiled and it was sad. "At the end, the only thing we'll have in common is that we'll both care more about you than me." When she pushed against me again, I let her go simply because I couldn't think of anything to say to that.

* * *

Thalia insisted upon being the bane of my existence, truly. I'd banked on her returning from her little trip by now. I wasn't worried that she hasn't, I was annoyed. With the second best fighter in my area gone I couldn't take the third. Pam had to hold down the fort. It left me with Clancy. I had to take that ginger haired bastard on my trip to Arkansas. I told myself that for every stupid joke I had to endure whilst in his company, Thalia would suffer.

The arrival of the Louisiana contingent had been coordinated to that of our Queen. Of all the other sheriffs in her realm, Julius and I were the ones that were present. The reasoning was obvious: we were her best fighters. She would need it. With us and her army of personal guards, Sophie-Anne might make it home.

There was more romance on a battlefield than there was in a wedding between two vampire royals. It was all an alliance on paper. It didn't mean both parties wouldn't finally end the other if given the chance and Threadgill was vying for a chance to take Sophie-Anne's head. Meeting him on his terms, in his state, might seem like asking for a silver stake but it was strategy. Refusing would make Sophie-Anne appear weak or afraid. Such a thing would be the equivalent of putting blood in a shark tank. I understood all of it, but I didn't like it.

Clancy and Julius were beside me as we waited for the Queen on the tarmac. I could feel eyes all over us the moment we arrived. Being in a place so crowded was a bad idea for so many reasons. Seeing her Majesty's jet was a relief. Thankfully this would be less of a production that what it usually was.

The royal guards were out in force. In total there were eight. That was just the beginning. Behind that line of vampires were the Berts, they were the other children of the Queen. They were Saxons and stood at close to seven feet tall. Each wielded battle axes that they knew how to use. The Queen wasn't visible. I knew she was there because André was toting his machine gun and had two sabers strapped across his back. Talk about overkill.

All vampires on the airstrip turned their heads directly due north. The answering pang of unspent lust in my body was verification enough. Sookie. It was too risky to have her travel with any vampires. It greatly increased the threat of an attack that we might not have been able to deflect. To keep everyone as safe as possible, she'd been given seats on several different flights, all during the day. Even after plane hopping all day she looked good enough to eat. She wore a peach sweater dress, tan high heels and a cream jacket to combat the season. Her hair framed her face like a halo. Her steps were measured and sure but it somehow drew my eyes to the curve of her hips and the length of her legs.

She stopped and the silence that ensued should have made a normal human quake with fear. Unconcerned, she raised her hand with a friendly wave and said, "Hey."

There was a soft chuckle as Sophie-Anne shifted from behind André. She came to stand directly in front of Sookie, who didn't flinch. She should remember to thank me for that later. She was perfectly poised as she dipped her body in a curtsy, "Your Majesty."

"I see you can be sweet," Sophie-Anne replied "I prefer it." So did I but rarely got it.

Sookie and I rode with Sophie-Anne to the hotel and it was then that I briefed her about my time in Dallas. I left out details but all I said was the truth.

"The Visigoth," André said referring to Godric by his origin. "He has gone away?"

"Yes," Sookie and I said together. It wasn't the answer we gave that surprised me. It was the identical longing and sadness that tinged that one word. It emanated from both of us. I turned to her but her face was turned towards the window as if she was watching the most fascinating things pass by.

The first two nights in Arkansas had been filled with preliminary posturing. For the most part I was able to keep an eye on Sookie because she was under orders to stay by the Queen's side, as was I. Well, pretty much every one of us were. At any point in time that Sookie had to be away from the group, I sent Clancy to shadow her. I tried not to let their easy rapport agitate me but it did—a lot. She actually laughed at his stupid jokes.

Tonight was the last night and we were all raring for a fight. Threadgill should have made his move already. He hadn't, and that put us all on edge. If he was going to make a move, it would be tonight. I was now practically having to room with the royal guards as a precaution. I was in the Queen's suite as she prepared for a night out. I was more than a little surprised when Sookie and Clancy approached the room.

We all listened as she talked to Weigbert and explained she needed to see Sophie-Anne.

"Let her enter," Sophie-Anne said.

This woman was temptation incarnate. She looked like a vixen. I was able to so clearly see the woman that had burned me with passions beyond my imaginings in her ensemble of the evening. Her blood red lips said she would be too hot to handle but her white lace dress said she would bring a man to the gates of heaven. The blue of her eyes appeared darker, sultry, with the dark eyeliner. Her legs appeared longer in her red strappy heels. Her mane was in tight cascading curls that were held from her face with crystal clips. She was mouthwatering. Those thoughts didn't help ease the mounting frustration.

"I don't think you should go out," Sookie began without preamble. Her words and the edge that tinged her words were what shook the vampires from our appraisal of her figure.

"Why?" André asked, moving closer to Sophie-Anne, as if he were expecting an attack to hit her at this very moment.

"Nothing concrete, just a waitress who overheard something she shouldn't have." Sookie rubbed her temples again—she looked to be in pain. "She's burying it and that's what's blocking me. She just knows it will be bad and she doesn't want to be around the Queen."

We were silent while Sophie-Anne decided her next step. She could cancel her plans of the evening under one pretense or another. But that wouldn't roust or foil an attack plot. It would simply postpone it and we may not be lucky enough for a warning even as vague as this.

"You will be Eric's escort for the night," Sophie-Anne began. "The two of you will remain close to André and me."

The implications were obvious. Threadgill would end Sophie-Anne with no hesitation but he would not risk something as rare as a telepath getting destroyed in the scuffle. That was not acceptable collateral damage. His attack would have to be more precise and would therefore pose a wider margin for error. No one could accuse Sophie-Anne of just being beautiful. Her shrewdness was not to be underestimated. In fact, she could be downright devious.

"That sounds seriously hazardous to my good health," Sookie muttered sounding disgruntled but she fell in line.

Sophie-Anne laughed. It was not something I heard often in my years in her service. But she laughed, and seemed truly amused. "I wish you would come to court," she said, moving forward in a silent flitter of her feet. "You are most exuberant."

She brushed a stray curl from Sookie's face. It bothered me that she touched my lover in a manner meant to seduce or entice. It bothered me on a strictly instinctive level. I was possessive about someone I've had, still wanted, and viewed as mine. Yet, she wasn't. Not really.

Sookie smiled at Sophie-Anne. "Thank you, but as Eric can tell you, I'm annoying in large doses."

I nodded my agreement which made Sookie do that little snort thing. She also added an eye roll for my benefit. Despite myself I smiled. She wasn't annoying me at the moment. She was sexually frustrating me. This new denial was worse than the original; I knew just what I was missing. I hungered for more of what only she could give.

"If I do anything weird," Sookie began. We all arched at a brow at her with that comment. Nothing about her was normal. Her ability was just the tip of the iceberg. She flushed and revised, "Okay, fine, weirder than usual, just go with it."

We made no response but it meant we heard and understood. Not just that we trusted her. It was strange but we all did. When we exited the room Sigebert and his twin brought up the rear. I really hoped push wouldn't come to shove this evening.

* * *

**School has officially begun for me so I may not be as predictable with the updates but I will try to stay on track. **

**Hey! Wanna know what happens what happens when you piss off a telepath? Then read the next chapter! **


	20. This Means War

**Chapter Twenty **

It was our assumption that Arkansas would make his move at the theater. It would have made sense if he subjected us all to _Les Misérables_ with murder on his mind. He hadn't. It made the pathetic rendition that much more dismal.

After the show each regent took their escorts to a restaurant that Threadgill owned. It catered to vampires but was geared to humans that wanted to come in contact with us while in a somewhat upscale and safe environment. It was no Fangtasia, that much was for sure.

It was grudgingly that I admitted to even myself that the establishment was…nice. It gave a taste of late nineteenth century elegance and new world beauty. Over the glistening hardwood floors hung a handcrafted chandelier. I knew it was handcrafted because Threadgill wouldn't shut up about it.

"Dance with me," he asked Sophie-Anne. He held his hand in an age old custom of chivalry, except his eyes couldn't hide his malice. Still, being the caliber of royalty that she was, she smiled and accepted.

In response André looked to Jade Flower. "Dance," and he wasn't asking.

"Dance with me lover," I said rising pulling Sookie up with me. We joined the pair of unwilling couples on the dance floor.

I have watched Sookie dance almost naked. I have seen move her hips and enthrall a crowd. I have also had her. I have buried my body in hers and tasted heaven that only she could offer. That said, dancing with her was still a very sensual experience.

The way she moved drew me into her personality. It was lively and calm, graceful and strong, and so very beautiful. The fire and laughter in her eyes made me hold her closer. Her body moved with mine with such ease. We could have danced every day since I met her. In those brief moments I got the clearest glimpse of her. She was not a riddle or conundrum. She was a woman and I was a man.

The trance broke. Her body tensed and she cocked her head to the door. It was then I remembered we were not alone. I remembered we were in another state. I should never had forgotten, she should not have been enough to make me forget. I forgot all over again when she rose on her toes to reach my neck. She buried her head there and nuzzled me. Then her lips moved to my ear and she kissed me in the hollow beneath the lobe.

"Spin me to André," she whispered. It took the next beat for me to catch André's eye. Then I did as Sookie asked. I didn't need to be told to intercept Jade Flower. She was not happy about the arrangement but neither was I.

My eyes roamed the room while I danced with Jade Flower. I watched her and tried to see what she saw but she gave nothing away. I looked to where Sookie was dancing with André.

André had one of his hands in Sookie's hair and the other was holding her upper thigh as he dipped her lightly, parting her thighs with his. His face was in her neck as if he was dying to taste her and could not resist basking in her essence. Then he lifted her and she circled his body in a slow sultry manner. She stopped, leaving her back pressed to his left side. He spun her for three turns. When she returned her face was buried in the crook of his neck rubbing against his. If I didn't know better, I would be inclined to believe they were lovers of the most licentious sort. But as she rubbed her face against André's, her hair hid her lips but I knew they were moving. Even as he looked beguiled and helplessly enraptured by her embrace and soft touches, I knew he was absorbing whatever it was she was saying.

All this I observed with Jade Flower in my arms. I wanted to toss her across the room but I held steady. I scanned the area because something felt off outside in the unease Sookie felt. Then it struck that for this being a place to glimpse vampires there were no vampires in sight outside of those with Threadgill and Sophie-Anne.

André gave me a look I knew well. I took hold of Jade's wrist and twisted it until it shattered. Then I flung her across the room like I'd wanted the second I took her on. At the same time Sookie ducked and André launched himself at his maker but he was a fraction too late. I don't know how it happened but I could smell the Queen's blood in the air.

Of course, the crash caused an uproar. Humans screamed and began to scurry for the exits. I moved towards the dance floor where all hell was breaking loose. I looked the door expecting more power fighters in the form of the Berts but they didn't come. They should be here. They must have heard the fighting. They would know their maker was injured and in need. Where in hell were they?

André had a machine gun in one hand and his saber in the other. Gunfire was ringing in the air in rapid succession. He had wounded Jade Flower but that bitch was persistent, even with one hand mangled and a bullet wound to her chest. She was fighting her way to Sophie-Anne and she was doing a great job. André couldn't last in a fight against her. Behind him Sophie-Anne was bleeding and Sookie was attempting to drag her in the opposite direction of the fray. The problem was they were being surrounded by Threadgill's people and had no place to go. From outside I heard more sounds of fighting I knew help wasn't coming.

Without further ado, I leaped into the fight. The first person I killed was Jade Flower. It was on principal. She was a wretch and I didn't like her. Once I relieved her of her head I took her swords. I continued to fight my way to Sophie-Anne. It was easy enough. I was outside the circle.

"Reload," André barked. He was shoving his now empty gun into Sookie's hand as he made one pirouette move after another to fight off the horde. She reached around his waist and pulled the bullet packs from his holster and did as he asked. "Point and shoot!" he ordered, leaving the weapon in her hands. "No one touches her. Shoot anyone that tries." That was a threat, an order and a desperate plea. He didn't wait for a response before he charged forward. He was attempting to have her injure people and so he could finish the kill. That was great plan except Sookie was not a fighter. She looked uncomfortable and the weapon looked odd in her small delicate hands. Luckily she didn't have to fire a single shot.

The fighting had slowed and victory was with us. André lifted Sophie-Anne. The rest of us we were gathering our wounded and ready to retreat. I cupped Sookie's face in my hands. She was unharmed. The blood on her wasn't hers.

"Okay" I asked.

She nodded. She looked anxious but focused. She had done well considering the amount of violence she'd witnessed. We were almost out the back door when a second wave of Arkansas vampires poured in. Fuck my life right now.

I wrapped my arm around Sookie's middle and took her with me. We all skirted back to the place that had been a used as a bloody battlefield once already today. The head of Weigbert was thrown at André. Momentarily he looked pained as the head turned to ash. Then his expression was masked with pure rage. Seigbert had his hands cut off. A sword was held to his throat in an obvious threat.

I was sure they had some demand, like surrender or give us the telepath but they never got to it. Sookie shot the vampire holding the sword to Seigbert the minute his mouth opened. Her fear seemed to have vanished. I couldn't say what had caused the switch. She was attending the task of shooter not with anger but cool resolution.

The defense line of Louisiana vampires formed in front of Sophie-Anne, shielding her. Sookie was kneeling over her as she picked through our opponents. Sookie seemed to know what she was doing with it. She was taking head shots and didn't hit a single person below the heart. Where André held the weapon with one hand, she had a firm hold on it with the butt nestled on her shoulder and she rotated with her targets.

Sophie-Anne had hand selected those who would travel with her into enemy territory. We were not to be taken lightly. Regardless of Arkansas' numbers, we outclassed them in skill and experience. We were also far from home and fighting for our lives. It honed our killer instincts. And a high caliber gun would make a difference in any fight.

"I'm about to have a bad day," she murmured, sounding terribly aggrieved.

It made me laugh as I gutted my current opponent. "And it was going so well."

All she gave in response was a snort and it made me smile as I continued to do battle. I couldn't help but notice how normal our dialog felt. She was not in the least bit timorous. Any other human would be cowering under a table and wetting themselves. She was calm and cool and making conversation.

"Mag!" Sookie called. She was running out of bullets. André had them and he had his hands full. We all did. Not one of us had a solitary opponent. Threadgill had made sure we were outnumbered.

"I know," he said pirouetting out of the way of a blind charge.

"André!" Sookie yelled. "Get your ass over here!" She would be defenseless without more bullets and she had now been identified as a threat. They might not kill her but they would hurt her.

"Patience, pet, patience." He called.

Seigbert got to his feet and as mutilated as he was, threw his body at the opponents his brother was facing. She used her last bullets to keep them from sending him to his final death yet again. André took the opportunity to flash over to Sookie and deliver the ammo. Before the vampires under Seigbert healed enough to do him harm André was there severing their heads with quick, vicious sweeps. Then he moved to aid Rasul. By that time our side was keeping the Arkansas vampires from retreating like they wanted to do. They would not see another moon. None of them.

This time when we moved out the door we met no more resistance. The goal was to get in our cars and get the hell out of Arkansas. Our transport vehicles had been damaged. Two were on fire and others had tires slashed and engines smashed to bits. They, too, had been intent on allowing no survivors. The property destruction on top of the assassination attempt was just plain rude.

"Dammit!" André snarled. With no vehicles to mask our scent, we could easily be tracked. There was no way we could make it into the boundaries of Louisiana even if we ran flat out. We were all wounded, some more than others. Then there was Sookie. She would need to be carried. If the people around me weren't from my state, this is the time when I would wish them well and fly my ass home.

"I keep waiting for the police," Sookie said, sounding stunned. "The National Guard, a security guard with a flash light, someone!"

Threadgill had planned this too well. The coward had disappeared at the first sign of trouble. He was off at a safe locale no doubt. We were glad that police didn't respond to any of the calls I was sure they had received. They would have been more likely to burn the restaurant down with us all in it.

"We'll move on foot," André said. He turned to two of the Queen's guards "Cay and Kenneth, find vehicles and drive north to intercept us." That would take them in the opposite direction of home. The fastest route out here on foot didn't lead through civilization.

"We shouldn't split up," Sookie said. "Not here."

"There is no choice," André said looking down at the Queen's too pale face. "We need to move and now." I wondered if he knew he was rocking her ever so gently.

"How did the second group get here?" Sookie said. "They wouldn't have slashed their own tires."

"They also weren't likely to leave the keys in it," Kenneth retorted.

"Just find the cars," she snapped "No keys, no problem."

I arched my brow and found I wasn't the only one looking at her quizzically. She looked confident and we weren't daft enough to denounce a solution when our options were so sparse. All of eyes searched the night. There were a series of black cars parked under the brush of heavy shadows and trees.

"There!" André said, already moving towards them.

For all the rotten things to do they locked their cars on the way to kill us. Sookie reached the closest of the cars. Without any hesitation she rammed the butt of André's machine gun into the driver's window. The alarm sounded. She unlocked the doors and hopped in. Pulling the hair pin from her hair she slipped her head under the steering wheel to do heaven only knew what. A minute and a half later the alarmed died and the Audi purred to life. Wasting no time, she moved to the next car. That one and the three others were each started in less than a minute. When we were alone I had a few things to ask her, like where in the world did she learn to hot wire a car or shoot a machine gun.

"She gonna be okay?" Sookie asked André, looking down at Sophie-Anne. The Queen was unconscious and the bleeding from her stomach had slowed but not stopped as it should have.

"The human used a dart that injected silver nitrate into her," he said. "I will give her blood and then she will be well again."

Sookie nodded. André looked hesitant but then he leaned forward and kissed her head. No one of knew what to make of that. It was the first time I've witnessed him showing favor to a human.

"Move out." He ordered getting into the back of the car with his maker.


	21. My Hero Again

**Chapter Twenty-One**

Once we'd gotten into the car Sookie fell asleep. I thought she might be shaken by the battle but she wasn't. She was just tired. She woke when we got to a pit stop and had me buy her clothes from a random human woman. The white dress she'd worn was doused in blood, ash and dirt. It was a pity, it had been lovely.

"You are the second best lover I've ever had," I told her. "And I am the best you've ever had. I don't understand why you won't give into me."

I'd been watching her as she changed in the back seat and her curves had simply forced to me voice that point of frustration. My view also allowed me to see her disbelieving and infuriated expression. I sighed, knowing I had signed up for more silent treatment.

"How long are you going to remain angry this time?" We had spent the last hour and half in silence. I wondered if perhaps I should say something. It wouldn't be an apology because I'd done nothing wrong.

"I'm not angry," she said and she truly did not sound angry or smell of it.

"What are you?" I asked genuinely curious.

"Confused I think." I did not press her and she did not volunteer more than those three words. We had to stop for gas and she had human needs to see to.

"Do you want anything?" she asked. I knew she was asking more out of her polite ways than thinking I would want something.

There was nothing in that hovel for me. In response I rolled my eyes and she smiled as she walked away. I liked that she was easy like that. Nothing weighed her down for too long. The way she was walking was light instead of the stomping troll act. It told me that whatever her problem was she was over it. I was so absorbed in watching her walk away that I did not notice the mortals approaching me from behind.

The next thing I felt was splitting pain through my head and then darkness. I woke in the bed of a truck wrapped in silver chains. I was grateful that I had kept on a sweater. The chains across my body were only heating my skin through the fabric of my clothes but not burning me. It was painful but not as excruciating as the thick silver around my neck. I held very still; struggling would only force the silver deeper into my flesh, and then I risked poisoning my blood. Blood was soaking my shirt and I saw some of it on the weapon that caused my blackout. I had lost a lot of blood but it was not severe. The main thing to do was calm myself.

I heard a heavy steel door open and the Sookie's scent was in the air. It was unfortunate. She would have reported me missing but we were now in the same boat.

"Eric," she whispered. I cast my eyes down without moving my head. She was alone. Her face was a mirror of concern and anger but she was not afraid. Typical. She climbed nimbly into the truck bed and began removing the chains. When she reached for the one around my throat, she hesitated.

"Do it," I rasped. "Quickly." She closed her eyes and pulled. I ran my fangs into my lip to choke back the scream that I knew would have escaped. The pain was insufferable but it was short lived. I remained still while the worse of my burns healed. I was thinking of how I was going to kill those that did this and it was comforting.

"The cops are coming," she said. In the distance I heard sirens. It meant I wouldn't get to kill the people that had done this to me "We should go." She had brought a pack of bloods with her. This time she drove and I sat in passenger seat choking down, cold bottled blood and seething.

"Are you okay?" she asked after more miles of silence.

"Fine," I said coolly. "What happened?"

"Two Weres, they have been following us since Arkansas. Anyway, they were supposed to take me back with them." There was zero evidence to suggest such, but this had Threadgill written all over it. Only he would send Weres to do a vampire's job. Then again they presumed she was alone, not that having me with her did any good.

"How did you get away?" When I didn't even see it coming I added mentally.

"The clerk had a gun," she said, making it sound so very simple, which made me even angrier.

"You didn't have to come for me," I spat at her. I saw her surprise turn into indignation when she finally registered my anger.

"Was there something wrong with me saving you?"

"Yes" I said evenly. "I could have managed."

"Huh!" she said with voice laced with venom. "Okay just answer this: is it because I'm a woman or because I'm not a vampire?"

I was being unreasonable. When you wanted to live, it did not matter who saved your life but that logic did not silence my ire. "Both, but mostly because I didn't need you." I have gotten out of worse scrapes. I was overtaken by two mutts and had to be rescued by a human woman. It was a disgrace.

She hadn't flinched at my words though they were dripping with venom and I knew lesser men would have squealed. Once I'd spoken I realized I was lashing out unjustly. I wanted to take them back but it was too late and I was too angry to pursue it in any case.

"I'll remember that." There was nothing in her voice that indicated any emotion.

The remainder of the drive was made in poised silence. When we finally arrived at her house she got out of the car without a word or backward glance. I exited after her feeling like an ass. My pride had been wounded but she still saved me. In thanks I'd lashed out.

"Lover, I—" I began. A deafening crack rent the air. It was accompanied by a piercing pain tearing through my head for the second time in less than three hours. The exception was that this occurrence did not come with the luxury of unconsciousness. I crumpled to the ground with the knowledge that I had been shot. There were fragments of skull and brain tissue on the driver's side window. My blood was splattered over the car and pouring from both the entry and exit wounds. I think I could say unequivocally and conclusively that tonight sucked silver stakes.

Sookie came to me and horror was plain on her face. I regretted my harsh words now and wished I had done something to make amends. Behind her the assailants approached. I tried to speak but that function along with almost all others was damaged. I looked past her in an attempt to warn her. It was unnecessary. Her telepathy provided warning enough.

Working quickly Sookie shrugged off her jacket and rolled me onto my side. The side of my head with the bullet wound was no longer lying in the cold dirt though it did nothing for the pain. Then she pulled off her heavy sweater and threw it over me. If I still had control over any of my facial muscles I would have smiled at the touching but unnecessary gesture.

Now the only thing between my impending final death at the hands of four large Weres was Sookie, empty-handed, wearing nothing but jeans and flimsy t-shirt. In other words I was doomed.

"Howdy boys," Her tone was very friendly and familiar as she addressed the would-be assassins. She was walking casually towards them as if they were invited guests to her tea party. "I'm sure he's done something to deserve that but I'm gonna have to ask that there be no more violence here, please."

Two of them laughed, one of whom was the person who fired the shot. He still had the rifle thrown casually over his shoulder. Nothing would save him if I survived this. I would rip his fucking heart out and use his arteries as a straw.

"Well, why don't you come with us sugar and your dead friend can remain just dead and not finally dead."

"He's like what?" She turned to look at me over her shoulder to shoot me questioning glance. "A thousand and some change, I'm only twenty-four. Doesn't sound like a fair trade to me."

The Weres laughed at her wit. There was honesty in her tone that made me want to laugh too, but it also made me nervous. I had told her in the not too distant past that I didn't need her. That had come to bite me the ass pretty fucking quickly.

There was nothing for me to do but watch intently. It gave me a chance to see what Sookie was intending to do. She was stupid, so very stupid, and suicidal by the looks of things. As the Weres laughed she was inching closer to the one with the rifle. Her eyes were clear and calculating. I wouldn't meet the true death for her. I hated that she was thinking of doing that exact thing for me. Not enough that I wished she would abandon me but enough to pray that she wouldn't suffer much before she met her end, before we both did.

"Quit fucking around, Miles. Grab the bitch and let's get the hell out," one of them called.

"There's just no need for that kind of language," Sookie muttered under her breath. Then she attacked.

They never saw it coming. They had not been paying attention to body positioning. She had drawn them into a small circle around her. Their size and numbers would not be to their advantage in that small space. The one that called her a bitch was the first to meet her wrath. She struck him twice with exceptionally fast and well-targeted blows that had been accompanied by the unmistakable crunch of bone. He went down with no plans to get up in the immediate future, if ever.

The swiftness of her attack caused a delayed reaction from the other Weres. After all, how often was it that a human woman did that? Their delay gave her time to grab for the rifle. It had already been primed by its owner and it went off, but it was one of his companions who hit the ground. There was a bullet lodged in his throat and he gurgled as he choked on his own blood. Sookie kicked the other one that was still standing. The force knocked him back and she used the momentum to literally climb up the arm of the one with the gun. The gunman could not maintain his grip as she pulled the gun upward.

It had to be hand to hand combat. If they took the time to shift she would have time to take the gun and shoot them both before they finished their transformation. She fought to maintain her hold of the gun and it ended up breaking from the strap taking away both their chance to take hold of it.

Sookie wasted no time in shifting her methods. All she had in her hands was the broken strap of the gun that was already tangled around the Were's neck. She leapt off his shoulders with both ends of the strap in her hand. He flailed wildly; trying to connect a blow and throw her off as he fought for breath. Given the difference in their height she was safely behind him, choking the life from his body.

I was sure she would have killed him but the last accomplice who was still mobile grabbed Sookie off his friend. He threw her so forcefully that she bounced off the ground and landed several feet away. He kicked her as she was down and I heard at least one of her ribs give way. He tried to kick her again and she grabbed him at the ankle and used her foot to snap his leg at the shin. There was a howl as he went down because of the break. She twisted his ankle for good measure. He threw several punches before he hit the ground. He landed two. She broke something in his hands but I could not say what. They fell out of my view as they rolled on the ground.

I watched the half strangled were who had caught his breath and finally untangled the strap of rifle from his neck. He began running for the gun.

Sookie saw him despite her preoccupation. She was closer and pulled out from under her current opponent. She began running for it as well. She was moving slower because of her injuries. She wasn't going to make it, even I knew that much. She realized this too because she slid on the grass like she was running to home base and tripped him. Down he went like a log. He let out a shout of pain; pure frustration and outrage.

They faced off because the gun was now out of both their reach. Her poise and strategy under fire was more than impressive. Despite her odds she had kept the fight on her terms; hand to hand. Sookie was not a foot from me. I could feel the heat from her body. I could see the damage she had taken. She was cradling her right side with her left hand. Her opponent was limping and I knew something in his right foot was damaged.

"What'd you say? Huh?" She wheezed wiping at the heavy flow of blood from her nose "Truce." She coughed and spit out a mouth full of blood. His response was to pull out a large hunting knife from his boot. She sighed, "Figures."

She ran closer to me with him at her heels. Quickly she removed the sweater she had draped over me. She pulled her hands through the sleeves, using the garment in its half on half off position to deflect her assailant's wild stabs. With her ability she knew where he would strike the instant he thought it. Every time he lunged at her she dodged and made him pay with a well-placed kick, all of which were targeted at his injured leg.

The fight ended when he stumbled under a particularly vicious knee to his side. Wasting no time Sookie kicked the knife from his hand. A kick to his ribs brought him to his knees. Then she leapt off the ground with force and agility. Her knee connected with his head and it snapped back with a satisfying snap as his neck broke. Yes, Weres could heal quickly, but when they died they were gone for good. And that sack of filth was no more. Score four for the telepath. I simply couldn't believe it. She'd overcome the odds.

When the fight was over Sookie staggered and limped to the gun. By the time she reached it she'd dropped onto her hands and knees, gasping for breath. Every time she coughed and wheezed she cried out in pain. She was coughing up blood by the mouthful. I knew the pain from her ribs must have been incredible. I knew she had to be freezing now that the adrenaline was wearing off. I wanted to go to her but the hole in my skull had not yet closed. She crawled back to me with gun in hand. Even with all the blood and dirt on her face she was smiling. Of all the absurd things, she snuggled with me. Her head rested on my chest. She moved my arm to drape over her while she wrapped her arms around herself. I was staring at her trying to understand the conundrum. I was coming to the realization that this woman was completely other. She couldn't be human.

"You know Eric, I'm getting tired of saving that pretty ass of yours." The pain was so intense her words were a pant but I could still hear the humor in it.

So, she finally admitted my ass was pretty. I'd known all along of course.

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**I know a lot of you are excited for the return of Godric but he'll get here when the time's right. **


	22. New Specs

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

Sookie closed her eyes and faded into unconsciousness with a smile still on her face. Eight minutes passed. I was measuring the time with the beating of Sookie's heart. The amount of blood she'd lost was negligible. Her body was battered and broken but her life was in no danger. The cold would actually work to her advantage. It would numb the pain and slow the swelling.

Not being able to defend myself didn't keep me from searching for danger. I heard the approach of a vampire. I knew it was a vampire by the almost inaudible footfalls. As they drew closer his scent confirmed his identity. Compton. Yes, I knew he would be good for something someday. Bill stilled momentarily as the wind blew. I guess he caught a whiff of blood, were, death, and gunpowder. It was distressing for a vampire who was out on an evening stroll.

I tried to speak. I meant to call out to Bill but I ended up making a gurgling noise instead. I heard him move a little closer so I repeated the noise. It was no clearer this time but it served its purpose. Bill was immediately beside Sookie and me. I was sure the scene was odd. We were cuddling on the front lawn in the freezing cold with dead or unconscious bodies strewn about. Depending on what vampire you asked, it was the making of a really good time. Were it not for the hole in my head I might be one of those vampires who would agree.

Bill ran his hands through Sookie's hair and she groaned at his touch. From the look on his face I knew he was livid and would kill who had hurt her.

"Darling," said he murmured to her. "I know it hurts. I know," he crooned. "I need to move you." She made a noise that he took as assent. He lifted her as easily as possible but she still cried out at the initial jolt. He crooned and held her close to him with his head over hers. I could just be in a very bad mood but his attention to her was irritating me. It was nice of him to check on his sheriff too. The fucking ingrate.

Compton returned momentarily after bringing Sookie inside. He was wielding a kitchen knife. Billy Boy was out for blood. He headed to the closest of the Weres and dragged him to me. Propping my head on Sookie's jacket he snapped the neck of the already dead man. It was meant to move his head out of the way but I also thought the excessive force made him feel better. He opened my mouth then drove the kitchen knife into the jugular vein of the Were.

My fangs should automatically descend when I was in such dire need of blood but I was too badly wounded. My body was focusing on knitting the hole in my skull with the blood I had on hand. Bill was meticulous in his actions but his eyes were glued to the house where Sookie was. I was wondering about their relationship for the millionth time. Then the fountain of gushing blood began pouring into my mouth and I stopped caring about anything else.

Bill massaged my throat to help me swallow. It didn't matter that bottled blood could sustain a vampire. Fresh blood was what was best for us, like mother's milk. The were was already dead, his body slightly cooled but even then his blood was doing what a dozen bottles of synthetic blood and a day's rest couldn't.

I closed my eyes and moaned. The powerful pull of bloodlust was not something I allowed to engulf me too often but in this instance I submitted fully. I wanted so badly to grab the body over mine but I still couldn't move. Involuntary ticks were reverberating through my body. The hearty stream of blood began to slow as my fangs shot out in search for more.

I tore into the neck of the second donor myself. He was alive and with the pain of my bite he regained consciousness but Bill held him down as I drained him dry. After the second body my reflexes returned. With it came the aches and pains of being starved nearly to dust. Bill brought me the third corpse. He then returned into the house as I remembered he'd been anxious to do.

By the time I'd drained the fourth (he wasn't dead and I enjoyed it even more) I was healed and sporting flushed cheeks. I even felt warm tingles deluging my cold body. All that warm blood allowed me the unusual ability to register the cold temperature of the night and I gave a slight shiver. I wanted to go into the house to check on Sookie but Bill was with her. The bodies also needed to be disposed of. I set to work on the task. I realized a few things as I moved them about.

The group of now deceased werewolves suffered multitude of injuries. The gunshot victim got off easiest. The ones Bill and I inflicted were obvious. Sookie's damage had been more systematic and precise. She had thoroughly dismantled them. There were broken femurs, ankles, and tibia. They went nicely with the fractured collar bone and crushed nasal bones.

"Pam," I said into my phone.

"I'm almost there." I could hear her moving through the air. "Bill called." She continued, sounding annoyed. "Said he was caring for you and needed me to procure some items for Sookie."

"Yes," I said. "Make sure you have them."

I breezed into Sookie's house once I dumped the corpses in a shallow grave deep in the woods. When I'd envisioned myself returning here it had been under much better circumstances. In her bedroom Bill had removed her soiled clothing. I could see that he had to cut them from her body. The slightest movement caused her to cry out in pain.

"Ludwig can't come," he said. "I'm going to give her blood," From the way he was looking at her I knew he had been having that inner debate since he picked her up.

I moved to the bed beside Sookie. "There might not be a need if there's no internal bleeding," I replied.

I could give her blood and deal with her ire. I had already resolved to do so. She had saved my life at great personal sacrifice, again. That was worth my ensuring her health. There was no sense in that though. I could make sure she was well and Bill would be the target of her anger. It might have been underhanded but I much enjoyed it when Sookie wasn't angry with me. I knew she didn't want vampire blood in her or even near her.

Bill did not hesitate at the mere mention of internal bleeding. He punctured his little finger with his fang and placed it in her mouth, she swallowed reflexively. The amount of blood he gave her was minuscule. It would indeed mend any internal bleeding or the damaged organs I knew she probably didn't have. She wouldn't notice the additional strength depending on how soon she was on her feet again.

I wanted him to give her more blood all the same. The main reason wasn't because I wanted to place a wedge between them (which I did). It was because his blood was weaker and she had taken a lot of punishment. I didn't want her to be in pain. I rolled down the sheets to her waist to better see her injuries for myself. Bill shot me an irate look as I exposed her breasts.

What I saw was horrific. I hissed and Bill growled. Sookie's entire right side from under her breast to her waist was ghastly. The skin was scraped raw to her pelvic bone. She had at least three broken ribs, one of which was threatening to force its way through her skin. The point where her rib broke was vibrating unnaturally with every shaky breath she took. Aside from the ribs, nothing was broken but the breaks were not clean. That was very bad. It would require more than we could do for her here, a doctor, if not some form of surgery.

"Move," I said to Bill. "My blood is stronger."

He ignored me and almost sliced his finger off to get more blood into Sookie's body. It would be enough to mend the bones. The rest of her injuries would have to heal naturally.

"What the hell happened to her?" he growled. I ignored the question and took the rocking chair in the corner of the room.

My eyes were on Sookie but I wasn't really seeing her. I was trying to reconcile so many assumptions I had. In the beginning all I'd wanted was sex so it didn't really matter if I knew her or not. Once I got that I have been focusing on getting more. Then there had been the issues of keeping an asset of the Queen safe in my area. Knowing her didn't seem like a priority matter.

That was why I had nothing in the months of interactions to explain why she had been able to dismantle four grown werewolves not only empty handed but single handed. Not to mention be able to take that kind of physical punishment and still be witty. Then there was earlier this very evening, she'd helped the vampires of my state turn the tides in a fight and helped us get away after. I came to the conclusion that I knew nothing about her.

I watched as Bill cleaned her body gently. The swelling of her injuries was stagnant or receding thanks to his blood donation. Fortunately, his blood had done its work. The worse of her injuries were healing at a rapid pace. Her breathing seemed less contrived. Her ribs were once again whole, even some of her worse scrapes were looking days old. She was no longer in so much pain that she was unconscious but she was still in enough pain to suffer, and for that I pitied her. Truly, I would take it away if I could.

I wanted to move closer to the bed but Bill was into his role as a nurse. Since I knew nothing of tending to an injured human I sat back. He got a promotion to doctor when Pam arrived ten minutes later with the items he requested. The syringes were self-explanatory, the vials of clear and cloudy liquids not so much. Reading the labels didn't clarify the contents further. I knew nothing of human medicine. Bill explained what they were as he accepted them from Pam.

Pam and I watched as Bill worked. First he licked the back of Sookie's badly bruised right hand before finding a vein. The morphine was the first to be injected into her body. Once it began to work Sookie was happier and goofier than I had ever seen her.

She looked up at the three vampires in her bedroom with a look that was part humor and part scorn. "Now, I just know I'm living wrong," she said with a shake of her head and a dramatic sigh. I was grinning down at her. Pam actually snorted. "Hiya Alice," she greeted Pam cheerfully. She smiled and the cut on her lip bled. She could not care less.

"I am Pam, Sookie, you know that." My child looked to Bill. "Compton, are you sure you dosed that properly?"

"The high means I got it perfect" He replied pulling a night gown gently over Sookie's head.

"Wow! This stuff is great!" Sookie declared, plainly unconcerned about where Bill got his medical degree.

"Can you tell me what happened to you darling?" He asked stroking Sookie's face to get her attention.

She smiled as if taking notice of him for the first time. "Bill," She crooned, reaching to pat his face unsteadily. She almost jabbed him in the eye. "Hi."

"Hello Sookie," he said, pushing that ever wayward strand of hair from her eyes. He cupped her face and stroked her cheek. "How did you get into a fist fight with Werewolves, huh sweetheart?"

"I love your eyes and the way you call me darling," she murmured leaning into his touch. "even though I never act like it."

I saw he wanted to press her but he let the topic drop and returned to tending to her, not before he told her, "You'll always be my darling, no matter what." She smiled and closed her eyes in deep contentment. I didn't know I was looking away until I felt Pam's eyes on me and knew I'd been caught.

Okay, the complements Sookie paid Bill annoyed me a lot more than they should. Mostly because I knew it was nothing but the truth. Inebriated as she was, she wouldn't be able to cook up a lie or anything that was meant just to annoy or fend me off. It made me think her indifference towards me wasn't feigned, as impossible as that sounded.

"She fought to save me," I said to no one in particular.

"Yup," Sookie chimed in.

She didn't even flinch as Bill forced a disjointed finger into place; she had three on her right hand. It required some difficulty and finesse to right them. Once that was finished, Bill taped them all together and placed a bag of ice over them. It was impossible to think that hands so small and soft and warm could dole out so much damage and death.

"I'm an idiot," she said with that little snort thing she did that conveyed so many things all at once. Her eyes turned to me and they were oddly focused even as glazed as they were. There was no silly humor left in their blue depths. While she was still high as a kite it was no longer a happy high.

"Don't give me grief about this Eric, because if you do, I'll watch as your cards play out, I'll do nothing when your number gets called. 'Cuz we both know you wouldn't risk your life for me"

Bill turned to give me a look that was somewhere between disgust and disbelief. I ignored it but it wasn't as easy as it usually was. Sookie broke the tension. All her inebriated humor came back in effect. She prattled about all kinds of things from the quilt to some dessert treat but I wasn't really listening. I was struggling with some emotion I couldn't understand. Yeah, emotions were rare for me. It wasn't that I didn't have them. It was just that I controlled them.

Over time I had become a creature of sheer pragmatism. My emotions made sense because I had planned and charted a course that caused whatever I was feeling. This was so not like that. What I felt was a mixture of shame and regret, but why? She merely told me the same truths I had told her. Guilt was also present in the symphony. It was not an emotion I partook in. I didn't like it, but no rationalizations I used would make it go away. It was because of Sookie. I looked up at her and her rambling was slowing. Morphine was pulling her towards unconsciousness and I wouldn't get answers tonight.

"Is there someone you want me to call to be with you during the day?" I pulled her lids back to force her to answer. "Terry perhaps?" Her former roommate seemed to care for her and he was the only other human she ever spoke of.

"No Terry. Tell no Terry" she mumbled. "Blood, can't see Terry," and that was all I could get out of her.

I got the gist of what she was saying. Blood and Terry didn't mix. It explained a lot. Since she was so adamant against Terry I could send Bobby but I knew she disliked him greatly plus he would be useless in terms of domestics. Someone needed to watch her home during the day she would be less than capable of defending herself in her current condition. I knew just the mongrel for the job. While we waited outside for him to arrive I filled Pam in on what happened. She, like me, suspected Arkansas.

"She really saved you?" Pam asked, puzzled.

"You should have seen it," I said to my child, shaking my head. I still couldn't properly articulate the thrashing an ordinary tiny human woman handed out to a group of Werewolves twice her size.

"It's not so surprising," Pam reasoned.

"How so?"

She arched a perfect eyebrow at me. "Look at her. Everyone with or without a pulse wants her. It would be foolish of her not to have learned how to defend herself." Explained that way it appeared rather obvious.

"She'd made no mention of being skilled." I wasn't sure what I was getting at.

"She abhors violence," Pam said thoughtfully. I shot her a disparaging look but she nodded certainly "Truly, I know this to be so. When we went to the mall a human man was openly staring at her while he had his wife with him, the woman moved past Sookie and bumped her intentionally." From Pam's face I could see the mere memory irritated her. Her English accent hung heavier "When the woman demanded Sookie apologize for her clumsiness, she did."

"What did you do?" I asked.

She shrugged "Nothing. She told me she apologized because it cost her nothing and that was exactly what that other woman was worth. She's a pacifist yet with her looks and ability she is a target of violence. Shouting about her capabilities as a fighter would only invite more. With her silence she plays up her faults and let them become that of her enemy."

That right there was the idea I was having trouble reconciling. Where she was concerned I had to completely reassess my thoughts. I realized I was accusing Sookie of something but I wasn't sure exactly what. It wasn't that she'd intentionally lied to me. She didn't lie. I guess I was accusing her of not being what I assumed she was, which was unreasonable on so many levels.

Having the illusions I had of her shattered all in one night prickled at me. I felt like I had fallen into a trap, like I saw her as she wanted to be seen. Being blinded by anything or anyone was as good as a death sentence. I rubbed my head and felt a lingering twinge. It wasn't the time to think, there was more than a little blood and brain matter on my person. Not a great analytical stand point.

"Come now Eric," Pam said with a snicker. "This is just because she is a tiny woman child and she saved your skin twice in one night. If you add the fight in Arkansas she has saved you three times." I was spared from having to throw something at her because Alcide arrived.

Alcide Herveaux was the son of the pack master of the Long Tooth pack. That pack master had a gambling problem. It was so out of control that he had borrowed heavily against his construction company and had been in grave danger of losing what took generations to build. That was when he came to me. Being the Good Samaritan that I am I couldn't turn him away. I lent him the money and I used the debt to make him heel as I wanted. It made my job as Sheriff so much easier.

"What?" Alcide asked. For the above mentioned reasons, the son of the pack master resented me but every time I called he had to answer. It was a delightful feeling really, taking an alpha male and turning him into my bitch.

"Do you have any dealings with any packs in Arkansas?" This confused him because I had never paid the slightest bit of attention to their mutt groupings. He nodded.

"The one I am looking for will report some people missing. Several in fact." He bared his teeth and fought the urge to shift. I sighed. Just because you're a vampire people blamed you when blood was spilled. Most times they were right, but still. "They shot me and manhandled my lover." I introduced Sookie by that title because I knew find her appealing. Even with large bruises and broken bones could not hide her beauty. "Which brings me to my next point, I require you to watch over her during the day."

"I'm not a fucking nurse. Why not bring her to a hospital if you care so much?"

I glided past him and towards Pam's car. It was a silent dare for him to defy me on this. I knew he wouldn't.

* * *

**It is long awaited but Godric is in the next chapter. i think you guys will understand why he had to go away and why Sookie and Eric took so long to get to where they are now.** **A great big thank you to all my avid reviewers and thanks to all of you who have me on your Favs. It makes all the work rewarding. **


	23. Together

In case I didn't do so in the last chapter I wanted to thank my super awesome Beta. **Rebecca. t. p. wrecker.** Without her, my pace would definitely slower.

* * *

**Chapter Twenty Three**

I made it a point to check on Sookie the very next, even though I was pressed for time. I wanted to make sure she was comfortable. She was more than that. I found her and Alcide looking quite cozy as she had dinner. If I wasn't used to the amount of attention she got from anything with or without a pulse, it would have irked me. It still did in fact but in my defense I'd called the mutt to make sure she was well looked after not to buddy up to her.

"Hi Eric," Sookie greeted. Her smile was bright and her voice was airy. Some of my irritation evaporated.

"Hello lover," I said with a heavy emphasis on the last word.

I got the satisfaction of watching Alcide frown. It was a small thing but it pleased me so. She looked just as beautiful as she'd ever been. All the bruises and scrapes were gone and so was the swelling. It was her fingers and the tight wrapping around her ribs that told of the previous night's battle.

"You're good for the night?" Alcide said looking at her in question, and she nodded her assent. "Okay, I'll be in touch." With that he rose from his seat.

He spared me a sneer but that was it for communication. It was pretty standard. I watched him go, thinking of all the ways I could fuck up his life through his father alone.

"I'd offer you a blood but heating it would be a production," Sookie said. Her smile was apologetic. Her inability to prepare it simply gave me an out—as if I would willingly opt for that sludge.

"I understand," I replied, taking the seat closest to her.

I watched as she took a few more bites of her steak. The silence was comfortable, mainly because I was too old to be bothered by the smell of human foods. I was busy stealing furtive glances at her in an attempt to acclimate the fierce fighter, the fiery vixen and the sweet southern belle into one body. I had no luck and I knew I wouldn't unless I asked questions.

When she pushed her food away I asked the question that bothered me most, "Who taught you to fight?"

She sipped her glass of water before answering "Look at me," she said and I did. What else did I ever do when she was around? "What do you see?" Her eyes shone and I thought whatever response I gave would be of great importance to her. Not wanting to hurt or offend her I went with the whole truth.

"I'm not sure anymore."

She smiled softly but it didn't reach her eyes. She looked strangely haunted.

"Okay. What if I had something you wanted but I didn't want to give? It could be my purse, information, my body, whatever," she shrugged. "What would you see then?"

Of course I knew what she was getting at. Pam had all but spelled it out for me. Now that I was no longer healing from a gunshot wound to the head, I remembered she had run away from home when she was a little more than a child. That explained a lot. It explained her attitude even in the worse of situations, her resilience and endurance for physical pain, and her mental fortitude to know not to trust anyone she couldn't read. Life had taught her many lessons and she had learned well.

"What would you see then, Eric?" She whispered.

Her eyes hadn't lost that harrowed edge and they captured mine with their intensity. The expression was so wrong on a face so young and beautiful. I wondered if this was what she looked like when she had talked with Godric in the hotel bathroom. I wondered if he, too, had felt the urge to wash it away.

"Easy prey," I replied.

"Yeah," she murmured, looking away. "Easy prey."

"Why did you run away from home?"

"How do you know that?" she asked, sounding more surprised than annoyed.

"It was my business to know your business, remember?" I shrugged, unrepentant.

By the look on her face I knew she was contemplating telling me off or not answering. In the end she sighed and leaned farther back into her chair. "For the same reason most teenagers do I guess. I was angry. I was hurt. I felt alone. My whole family was dead. I wanted to get away from it all."

"Where did you go?" I asked genuinely curious. "How did you survive on you own?"

Her face broke into a smile. It didn't radiate her usual warmth but it wasn't sad. "I went where I wanted. It could have been worse. I knew who to avoid," she tapped her temple. "The great thing about telepathy, I get to learn lessons without making the mistakes that come before them and when I spend enough time in someone's head I pick up their skills."

"Hot wiring cars and shooting guns?" I concluded wryly.

She did that little snort thing. "That's just the beginning. I can tune an engine, panel a house, play bass, and a whole slew of other things I might never need."

We fell into silence once more and I decided now was a good time to right my wrong, "I'm sorry." I began "You saved me at the gas station and I snapped at you, you didn't deserve it"

She stared at me and I was one hundred percent sure she didn't believe me. She wasn't going to make this easy on me this time, obviously. I drew in a breath I didn't need and exhaled it.

"It wasn't a 'you being human woman thing.' It was a pride thing."

"Oh," She said after a pensive moment "Okay"

"Thank you for defending me after the way I behaved." It only made my behavior that much more atrocious.

To this she smiled brightly "Wish I could say it was my pleasure" She eased to her feet and began trying to collect her plates.

"I'll do it,"

I offered, because I knew she wouldn't ask. She would make ten trips from the table to the sink instead asking for help. Since she preferred I work off my offenses, this would go towards my tenor in reparations. I got her comfortably seated on her couch with the remote and a drink in hand before I prepared to take my leave. I needed to get to the bar. Pam was itching for a day off and with Sophie-Anne injured and out of sight for a while all her sheriffs needed to be seen in full view so no one got the wrong idea.

"Goodnight lover. I will return to check on you soon." I kissed her head and because I couldn't resist, I brushed my lips across hers.

It shocked me that she reached her good hand to cup my face. She let her lips slide past mine and kissed my cheek, then she buried her face in the crook of my neck. I didn't know what to make of it. It wasn't to initiate sex. Depraved as I was, even I wouldn't think to put that kind of strain on her. It just seemed she wanted closeness of my touch. I obliged. I held her as close and stroked her hair.

After a full minute she pulled in a deep breath and began to pull away. I stared down at her and for the briefest moment I saw vulnerability. It was only there for a moment and then she smiled brightly.

"Bye Eric." She kissed my lips ever so softly once more and then let me go.

* * *

The next two nights were spent focusing on my duties as sheriff. There was more than one traveling vampire that had smelled blood and thought to come for closer inspection. They had their asses kicked soundly and sent back on their now not so merry way. This would be the norm until Sophie-Anne made a public appearance. I really wished she would hurry the hell up.

It was close to three when I turned onto my street tonight. Going to my house never felt like coming home. I lived alone and there was nothing to mark the three bedroom modern fixture as mine. It was nestled in deep in the suburbs of Shreveport. The interior was decorated in rich jewel toned colors that I found pleasing to look at, but that was it. It was a safe place to rest during the day, which was my only requirement.

Since I moved into this house only two people knew where I lived. One was Pam and the other was my day man. The car that was parked in my driveway belonged to neither. It was an Aston Martin One-77. It was jet black with completely tinted windows and black on black rims. A car like that could probably move through the night like a shark through water. There was only one person who it could belong to.

Killing the engine, I flew out of my car. I found him in the backyard. He was seated at the edge of my pool, his trousers were rolled up and he had his legs in the water, kicking with the perfect amount of force to create mini tidal waves. From my vantage point I could see his hair was now long enough to obscure his face. It was curly and fell to his chin. In the moonlight, I could see the strips of honey and wisps of red in his other wise dark locks.

"I didn't know your phone number offhand," Godric said without looking up from the whirlpool he was creating with his feet. "It was either sit here and wait, or go to your bar."

I didn't speak. I couldn't. The sheer joy of seeing him here was rendering me immobile. I just watched him. Since Dallas, I had been forcing myself not to reach out through the bond we shared. I didn't want to face what it would be like to reach out for him and find that there was nothing there. Reaching out and getting nothing but more of his deeply rooted depression was not something I'd wanted to do either. With the former, I would have gone into mourning that I wasn't sure I could recover from. With the latter, I wouldn't be able to fault him for wanting to meet his end. Like him, I'd clung to senseless hope. That hope had not been in vain. He had come back to me.

"You have a problem with my bar?" I asked, feigning outrage.

He chuckled softly. "Just the cliché," his tone implied the whole bar was a cliché.

More silence fell and I struggled for the right thing to say. I didn't know if he only came to tell me a proper goodbye before he left this world. I didn't know if he was just passing through or if he came to ask me to leave with him. It might be too much to hope that he had come here to stay.

"I'm happy you are here," I said sincerely. "I have missed you." No matter the reason he had come, that was the truth.

He didn't respond with words. He didn't stop watching the water. There was no physical change, just emotional. I felt our bond spark to life. I braced for at least some lingering pain but there was none. It was like expecting the most vicious of bites and getting a soothing balm. From my maker there was nothing but tranquility. Where his emotions had last felt like a diseased, festering sore, now there was nothing but serenity. I let it engulf me and read into it more deeply. There were some undertones of sadness but it wasn't abysmal. It was as if he had accepted the things he hated but couldn't change.

Godric rose from the pool and faced me. He had been right. The maker I'd known was gone. I could feel the difference. It was written all over him. This wasn't a vampire who existed to see his goals fulfilled, this was someone new. It didn't matter. All I knew was that he was mine and I was his, always. That hadn't changed.

At his age Godric was afforded a few extra minutes of wakefulness. He could rise at twilight, I had to wait until first dark. The next night I woke to find him already dressed and heating a blood. He drank the contents of his bottle without so much as a single grimace. He was stronger than I. Reading the expression on my face, he grinned.

"Come with me tonight," I said scrolling through my phone. "I need to make an appearance."

He shook his head. "I want to see Sookie."

I looked at him and tried to think of what to say. I knew the fact that I've had sex with her wouldn't bother him. I wondered if it ruined his chances with her though. Sookie might find it immoral to pursue anything with him after sleeping with me. Probably not, she wouldn't hold anything I've said or done against him. That wasn't her style. While she didn't entirely trust vampires, for some reason I didn't think that applied to Godric.

I have never had a woman give herself to me with so much passion and then not return for an encore. Even worse, she refused me when I finally admitted my desire for her. Was I bothered by her hit and split routine? Yes, I sure as hell was. Did it mean I had a problem with my maker's interest in her? No, not at all. He was the _only_ other one I would want to have her.

It wasn't just because I wanted him happy. I knew to compare what I felt for her to what he felt was like comparing a tree to a forest. Just the way he spoke her name said it all. What he wanted was deeper. What he seemed to get just from talking to her was tons more than what I got from her body, which was quite the accomplishment.

"Something has happened," Godric said, tilting his head to the side. He was staring deeply into my eyes and it took all my years of experience to not squirm. "And it troubles your…conscience?" That had sounded like a surprised guess.

"Easy on the 'C' word," I warned. "That's how ugly rumors get started."

He smiled wider but didn't let the subject drop "You can tell me on the drive. I don't know where she lives."

Godric and I talked while he drove like he never heard of a speed limit. I knew I'd learned that from somewhere. I told him how I met Sookie. I told him that she found trouble at every corner. He knew she could defend herself. He had seen as much when they'd fought off Newlin's Weres in Dallas. I was now inclined to believe Pam. That eased any suspicion I had that she had wanted to appear helpless for some nefarious reason. She was a pacifist who was plagued by violence. I pitied her enemies the day she fully embraced her ability to kick ass.

I told him about the night I spent with her and the fact that she was happy to leave it at that.

"What did you expect?" Godric asked with a chuckle. We both knew it was my ego that was bruised and not much else. "That she would throw all caution to the wind just for your skills in bed?"

Well, yes. "I wouldn't ever intentionally hurt her."

"No," he said with absolute certainty. "You wouldn't, but you are so easy to love and so hard to hold onto, impossible to tame. For all those who've had their love go unrequited, it is harrowing all the same, no matter how unintentional on your part."

I said nothing as I mulled over his words. It wasn't that I could deny them. If there was anyone who knew me, it was him. I was also starting to think Sookie knew me very well. Her words now made sense. Being my lover would lead to her having feelings for me that went deeper that the physical or necessary. She knew those were feelings that I wouldn't reciprocate. A month ago I would have eagerly agreed to that assumption but not now.

Sookie was wrong. Caring about me wouldn't be the only thing we would have in common. If she could imagine that her feelings would grow, why couldn't mine? In fact they had. The first night I met her I would have had sex with her and not cared if she died the next day. The very next time I saw her, I was contemplating killing her. Now it was different. I would never hurt her, not because she was a valuable asset, but because I liked her. She intrigued me. I cared about her, if only a little, I cared.

We missed Sookie at home. That was how I found myself at the bar of the shifter. His name was escaping me again. It was Shane or Sean something close enough to it. Point was that I was at Sookie's place of employment. We were told we just left and had gone home for the night. This hit and miss was the norm when most vampires were searching for someone. It didn't bother Godric or me. Telephones were for emergencies and half the time we forgot we had them. Most vampires were old world. It meant that if we were looking for you, we'd send an actual person or we'd come ourselves. Hell, Cleo just stopped using messenger pigeons. It was just the times we grew up in.

Back at Sookie's house I saw Bill moving through the cemetery from the distance. If he heard the approach of the sports car he didn't show it. Given the direction he was coming from, I knew he had been at her house. That annoyed me but I let it go as I saw Sookie emerging from her shed. Her decrepit car was traded for a sleek black motorcycle with grey markings that looked like vines of a rose. This was a look I haven't see her wear. Tonight she looked like hell on wheels.

Sookie had on a pair of black riding boots, her low rise fitted jeans tucked into them. She was wearing a copper colored turtleneck to combat the cool temperature. There was a black leather jacket draped over that. Her helmet matched her bike and it was tucked under her arm. Her usual purse was traded for backpack. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail with the end braided. I recognized the items. I'd simply assumed it belonged to the shifter. I'd been wrong. She stood in the middle of her driveway and stared at us as we approached. The car was unfamiliar to her. By all rights it should register as nothing more than two vampires. She would be anxious. I got out of the car the minute the engine stopped in order to abate her fear but found that I felt no signs of anxiety coming from her. She didn't straddle her bike to try to get away, she just watched with a cool expression.

"Lover, with your luck you really shouldn't ditch four wheels and air bags for two wheels and a helmet."

A derisive smile curved her lip and she snorted. "Hey Eric, I gotta—"

Her words died as Godric emerged from the car. He smile fell from her face. Godric was however expressionless, as if he'd expected it. I could feel he was anxious, but he was also confident as he moved towards her. She watched his every step and paced her breaths with each one.I had no idea what to do with that. She gaped at him as if expecting him to disappear. When he didn't, her face crumpled and she looked so sad. Finally she settled on crying. Her brows furrowed and her bottom lip trembled as she fought tears.

"Hi," was all she said. She was blinking rapidly, but the tears still fell. Godric moved in and cupped her face to wipe them away.

"I did not mean to make you cry," he murmured.

"Good tears," she said with a weak chuckle. "I'm deliriously happy."

It felt like I was intruding on something private but I watched because it was new. I have never seen Sookie cry or be rendered speechless. Since my turning I have never witnessed or even heard of anyone receiving Godric's affection, the intimacy of sex, yes, but not affection, not like this. I wondered how I would feel about it; turns out that I wasn't jealous. In Dallas when I noticed their connection I was feeling disjointed and rejected by him. Now I felt in tune with him as I should. While there was no jealousy, there was a strange wistfulness I didn't understand.

"I am happy to see you," he said. His thumb was stroking her cheek lightly. "I will wait until you return from your trip." He inclined his head to her bike.

"Just a joy ride," She leaned her face into his touch and her hand rose to cover his. "C'mon, I'll heat you a blood."

They were set to turn into the house and she looked at me, "Eric, you coming?"

"Rain check" I said "Fangtasia calls." I wanted to give them time alone but the offer of blood was all the more reason to refuse.

* * *

**Now the real fun begins! **


	24. Complete

**Chapter Twenty-Four**

It was a busy Friday night at Fangtasia. I was late after trying to track Sookie down, but Pam was holding down the fort on both the business and political aspects. She was doing it, but that didn't mean she was happy about it. She had all sorts of ways of making that clear without saying a word. It didn't help that the humans were acting like they didn't have only one life to lose. That would annoy me as much as it normal did except I was in a seriously good mood.

I went over to Pam and kissed her on her head just because.

"You're still late," she huffed.

"Fire me," I called over my shoulder.

She chuckled, "You should be so lucky."

It really would have been too much to ask that the pleasantries I'd been experiencing since last night would continue. They didn't. I didn't so much as see her. I felt her. It wasn't much, just a tingle of awareness. It told me that whatever she was feeling—rage was my guess—was particularly strong. I couldn't quite discern the emotion and I didn't care to look further.

Thalia sat at her usual table. She was dressed the same and looked as if she hadn't been AWOL for over two months. For a fraction of second I'd entertained the possibility that she'd fallen prey to the bounty hunters. Obviously not, she'd just been proving she was the bane of my existence. Not having the grit to end her finally meant I had to endure her.

If I exiled Thalia from my area she would only find trouble with another sheriff in a different monarchy. I was sure she didn't care about living, but when her immortal life was in danger, she would invoke my name, belying that notion. My name carried a lot of weight amongst the supernaturals. When that happened I would get a call looking for verification, at which point I would be forced to claim her as mine.

That was the manner of our relationship. Every fucking time, without fail, I saved her, knowing full well that I would be responsible for whatever damages she'd caused. Where Thalia was concerned it was always a lot. We were coming to a crossroads, she and I, but it wasn't something I could deal with now. I didn't spare her another glance after registering her presence. I was still having a decent night and I wasn't going to let her ruin it.

The number of rogues looking for weakness in Sophie-Anne's monarchy was dropping with every passing day. Who would come to piss all over that but Hot Rain in the flesh? There was no mistaking that he was powerful; it radiated off him. He stood like a blend of his past and the present. His russet complexion, deep set eyes, high cheek bones, and fall of jet black hair spoke of his Native American descent. The suit he wore was proof of his ability to adapt.

Long Shadow wasn't finally dead. Ending him because of sixty thousand dollars would have been entirely petty. I would have owed his maker four times that much in the end. It wasn't worth it just to make a point with a vampire so weak. The money itself wasn't where my issue was with Long Shadow, it was the reasoning that led him to the act.

My former partner thought I was weak and foolish. Foolish enough not to notice the theft, foolish enough not to pick up his deception, and certainly weak because he thought there would not be a consequence from me that he couldn't handle. That was the problem. As a sheriff, it was one that I had to deal with swiftly and brutally. After I helped him redefine the meaning of torture I threw him in a silver cage half his size and left him there. Ever since that night I'd received calls from his maker. Hot Rain had insisted that something had befallen his child and he wanted to know what it was. I'd told Pam to give him the run around.

Hot Rain moved through the throng of people but managed not to touch a single one. His presence didn't go unnoticed even by the most plastered of my patrons. All the vampires in the bar were watching his advance and were creeping forward. "There is a three drink minimum for the booths." I said once he reached me. My expression told him to get with it or get lost.

Deftly he flagged down a waitress as he sat across from me in my booth. Once his order was placed he turned to me.

"You know why I am here." His tone was deep and slightly accented and there was no mistaking the edge to it. Unfortunately for him I was now in a piss poor mood. It would be best not to antagonize me in any fashion, subtle or otherwise.

"I know, but ask me if I care," I replied slipping my phone into my pocket.

"I speak out of courtesy," the Native American growled. "I know my son is here starving and suffering."

"Why do you think that is?" I bit back.

Hot Rain stilled as if something was just occurring to him and it surprised him. "He is guilty of something?"

"You sired nothing but a thief and a coward," I said. "He stole from me even though he had absolutely no reason to. He betrayed my trust, insulted my lover, and tried to harm her in my presence." I'd been annoyed at those things then but now just listing them put me in a slightly homicidal mood.

"He would never succumb to mere greed," His eyes were flashing dangerously, warning me to recant what he deemed a specious, debasing accusation. Looking at the Native American vampire and the way he held himself I knew he was one of the vampires with a high code of ethics. Clearly, he thought he had instilled the same in his offspring. He hadn't, and I was going to enjoying raining on his parade, pun seriously intended.

"Come," I rose from my booth and waved for him and his people to follow. The only other one who came with me was Thalia. It wasn't because of any attachment. She was spoiling for a fight and there was a good chance it would happen with this bunch.

With a parting glare at me, Hot Rain approached the cage, risked the contact with silver, and stroked Long Shadow's face. I could feel his fury boiling at the conditions in which I'd kept his child.

"Order him to tell you the truth of his crimes," I said to Hot Rain.

"It's not true," he murmured. "Tell me what he says, it is not true."

No, of course not, my accusations were based on nothing. I simply liked my employees to draw straws every other Thursday and whoever draws the shortest straw gets to be tortured and be imprisoned in my dungeon. I mean, after all, there was no way I had anything better to do with my time.

All Long Shadow said was, "Don't leave me here. Please, don't leave me here." His voice was barely a whisper and his skin flaked and cracked as he spoke. I'd cut off his hands and they had yet to grow back and he was too bloody and burned to determine what he had once looked like. He was just a gangly, charred humanoid creature with dark hair. Actions had consequences and this was his.

Half an hour later a hundred and fifty thousand dollars was wired into Fangtasia's business account and I was ushering a barely conscious Long Shadow and a tight lipped Hot Rain out the back door.

"He will be executed on sight if he ever returns," I called after them. The lack of acknowledgement was of no consequence. I knew they heard. We all had perfect hearing.

By the end of the night I was eager to see Godric, to talk to him. I wanted to know how his evening with Sookie went. More than once I'd found myself hoping they hadn't disagreed or argued. I knew firsthand how bad that woman's temper could be. Yet something was telling me that it was a special case where I was concerned. It wasn't like I asked for it. I simply didn't know how to stop it. So yeah, I was curious how their evening had gone. I couldn't run home to meet him just yet though.

Pam had bailed early because she'd reached her limit on drunks, idiots, and all creatures in general. It was up to me to oversee the closing of the bar. I noticed that Thalia lingered longer than most of the other vampires. She was no doubt wondering what her punishment would be this time. Last time she had been gone a week, this time two months. Next time she pulled this shit I knew it would be for longer. I would let her stew because the truth was I didn't know how to punish her.

Godric was home when I arrived. He was unpacking properly with soft classical tunes weaving from the stereo in the room he'd taken. I sat on his bed and watched. I didn't want to read into it, but given the amount of clothes he'd brought, I knew he would be here for a while.

I had a lot of questions but the one I asked first was, "Where did you go? After?" The question had never left my mind since we parted ways in Dallas. Always I wondered, it was the last thing I thought of at dawn and my first conscious thought at first dark.

"Nowhere really, not for a while," he replied, setting aside a shirt he'd been folding. "I roamed, trying to shake all that, but after a week I felt worse."

I couldn't repress a cringe at the thought that he could have gotten any worse. Seeing my reaction, he caressed my face briefly.

"I was trying to outrun deeds I'd done, sins I'd committed, and that is impossible." He said taking a seat beside me. "The second I realized I was so much more than what I had become, it all began coming back and it ripped me apart. Every life I'd ever taken, be it justified or not, every act of barbarism, no matter how warranted, every single sordid thing I'd done in the two thousand years I'd survived rose in my heart and spread through me like poison. It was killing me. It was either face it all and make my peace or keep running and die."

Godric looked down at his hands as if they were new, then he cupped my face. "There is more to living than survival and death. When all your enemies are dead, when you alone stand victorious on a hill of ash and blood of you realize there is no way down and you can never go back."

Kill them before they kill you; know the moves of your enemies better than your own because there is no more living, just survival and death. That was what he'd instilled in me and spent centuries training me for. Yet, here he sat, dispelling it all. It was so contrary but it helped piece together the conversation he'd had with Sookie. It helped me make sense of how time had broken him.

Godric, too, might have been a pacifist who no longer recalled what it was like to not kill for one reason or another. The time he'd been born in was vicious, and as a human he'd had to fight to live. Becoming a vampire had only made taking lives easier, and often more necessary. It was a miracle his guilt didn't break him entirely.

I leaned forward and rested my forehead against his. His strength while he faced all that was truly remarkable. It made me all the happier to have him here. "Stay with me," I said without pulling away. "Stay here and you won't have to do anything that would make you hurt." I would do it for him.

His leaned into me and brushed his lips across mine. "Yes, I would like to reside in the area permanently," he replied, pulling away "If the sheriff permits that is," he tacked on with a smile.

"Welcome to Area Five," I said with a chuckle.

The next night when I rose there was a heartbeat in the house. It only took a fraction of a second after I left my day chamber for the scent to register. Sookie. The first thought I had wasn't worry about some human knowing where I lived. I couldn't even think of all the ways I would have punished anyone else upon exit. Where she was concerned, I was strangely pleased. Godric had shown her trust that had taken much longer for me to build. She was trustworthy.

"I'm not saying a vampire can't beat Superman," Sookie said. "I'm just saying heat vision's a real bitch so…"

Godric chuckled. "But that would be all for earth's defenders and he isn't even human from what you told me; if anything he'd be on our side."

Obviously I'd caught the tail end of the conversation and if not for comics in the 70's and cable television I would have had no idea what they were talking about.

"For the record, Superman would get his ass kicked to Krypton and back if he ran into the wrong vampire," I said entering the room.

Godric and I exchanged nods of greeting. "Hey, Eric" Sookie said.

"Hello lover," The greeting was so natural and it didn't occur to me to alter it. Any change would have been for her sake, not Godric's. He wouldn't read into it the way most humans would. She didn't seem at all awkward and I wanted to keep it that way.

"We're discussing what vampires would do if aliens invaded Earth," she said, clearly not bothered by the moniker. "I said I would call Superman." With an eye roll directed at Godric she continued, "He says vampires would defend their food source vehemently."

"What do you say?" Godric asked. There was a smile playing at the corners of his lips that told me he already knew my reply.

"It depends I suppose," I said with a grin.

Sookie, "On?"

"Are they more or less delicious than humans?"

Godric chuckled, "I told you," he said to Sookie.

She shook her head and tried not to smile but lost the battle. Her smile was glowing and radiated more than amusement, it radiated happiness. Her eyes shone brighter, her fingers were absently running through Godric's hair. I found that I was smiling for no other reason that I was the privy to it. She'd never been so at ease with me, not even when I'd been in her house. Surely this should make me feel out of sorts even the least bit. It didn't. The strange wistfulness I sensed yesterday was gone completely just being here with them.

* * *

For the next two months I watched in bemused delight as Godric sparked back to life a little more every day. He spent his nights with Sookie and they went on dates. Going to movies and carnivals, dinners and shows was something most males, human and vampire alike, did to please their women. That wasn't the case with him. I knew those were things that he either had never done or never wanted to do, but he enjoyed them just because of her. Nights when she had to work, he came to Fangtasia with me, and then he and Pam would make snide comments about how my bar was a bad movie waiting to happen.

During all this, it never occurred to me that my Queen might take issue with Godric residing in my area. It wasn't like she'd ever cared who else I allowed to live here. My maker should be no different. There was really nowhere that I was that he couldn't follow. I guess that was the problem. Having a vampire who was over a thousand years old in your area was one thing. I had sworn fealty and was loyal to her. Having a vampire that was twice my age taking residence in the same area was cause for concern, especially if it was the Visigoth. Worst of all, one of her sheriffs and strongest fighters belonged to him.

From an objective standpoint I knew where Sophie-Anne was coming from. Between Godric and me, we could raise hell and overthrow her with ease, especially given my rank in her regime. There were few who could match us in fighting skill and physical power. The thing was, I didn't want to be king or anything close to it. I wouldn't even take a position as lieutenant if it were offered on a fairy-blood filled platter.

As sheriff I had the perfect balance of power, responsibilities, and free time. The thought of donning a crown was enough to make me cringe. Seeing that was how I felt, I knew Godric probably wanted a throne as much as he wanted a silver crown. These days he was happier than I had ever seen him and I was willing to do anything to keep it that way. He had found love and I would allow nothing to take it away from him, and that included Sophie-Anne.

Tonight I woke to find Godric in my day chambers with me. He was seated with his legs under him and his hands folded across his chest. He was already dressed for the night and by the color of him he'd already had a blood. His dark hair and tribal tattoos stood out against his crisp white t-shirt. The identical cuff markings on his upper arms marked him as a slave during his time. The one that sat low around his neck marked him as a warrior.

"I talked with Sookie," he began. His eyes were the lightest shade of blue with specks of amethyst dancing in their center. They were boring into mine intently. "I will take the position."

"No!" I snapped.

"Beloved," he sighed. His accent was heavier, making the word sound like, _bee-lo-ved_ instead of _bee-lov-ed_. His voice was soft and while it did nothing for my dislike of this conversation, it did soften my frown. I'd always liked the way he called me that.

"No," I repeated. "It's not that bad yet." The stages of negotiation with Sophie-Anne were still preliminary. "More time and she will see she has nothing to fear from you." I leaned forward and cupped his face. "Don't worry."

Seeing that there was no way she could order me to ban Godric from my area, Sophie-Anne offered to let him lead the task force, the one that would trace victims of Newlin's drug operation and reimburse their kin. We all knew it for what it was: Her Majesty wanted my maker where she could watch him closely.

I would have been alright with that because I knew he had nothing to hide. He had no schemes to usurp the crown or cause unrest. But the position would mean him having to spend more time away from Area Five and pretty much relocating to Area One, New Orleans. I wasn't having that shit. He would be forced right back into a game he hated. It was that same aspect of the vampire world that wrought his misery of past. He didn't want any position in the hierarchy and he shouldn't have to take one in order to remain with me. All he wanted was to be left in peace and mainstream, and even if I had to kill someone, he was going to have that opportunity.

I'd proved my loyalty over and over again. I'd bled for her stupid ass throne. Sophie-Anne should not refuse me the one thing I'd ever asked of her in return. It wasn't even like she was doing me a favor. I was in the right and I wanted her to back the fuck off. She wouldn't, and for the past two weeks we were at an impasse. I had some leverage though. I was still the golden boy of the undead after Dallas. Sophie-Anne wouldn't want to make me angry and risk losing me. So she was testing me, pushing me, and I was pushing back—hard. But if she tried to abuse her power over me, I would threaten to walk and it wouldn't be a bluff.

"She is okay with it. I want you to okay with it also," he continued. His eyes were beseeching. He leaned forward and rested his forehead against mine. "Please Eric, it would make me hurt to see you suffer." I couldn't refuse no matter how badly I wanted to. I nodded my assent because I couldn't verbally agree either. It was like swallowing silver.

He cupped my face and kissed my lips softly. Then bounded out of the room. I was shocked and it wasn't just because I knew he was in a monogamous relationship. The instant our lips touched, that nagging, wistful yearning for something that I hadn't been able to place dimmed as if a switch had been flipped. I ran my fingers over my lips and tried to make sense of it.

If it was his intimacy that I had been yearning for, why couldn't I drum up even an ounce of jealousy because Sookie had him and I didn't? The same was true with the roles reversed. If I wanted her all for my own, why didn't I begrudge Godric having her? I'd witnessed their displays of affection and it pleased me. The only times of discomfort were the nights when Godric would come home with her scent all over him, mixed with his own and making me…

"Aw, shit," I muttered.

"What's wrong?" Godric asked from downstairs.

Everything. "Nothing," I called, getting out of bed.

I didn't want one or the other. I wanted both Godric_ and_ Sookie.

* * *

**So sorry to be gone for so long but school is a real bitch. My daughter is a diva and her dad can never find the goddamn keys! **

**I am at the tail end of my college career and in the thick of it. I'm all out of easy electives...I have five classes of hell...I will be back just as soon as I can. **


	25. Running

**Chapter Twenty-Five**

Pushing my crazy realizations to the side I made a call that was as necessary as it was unpleasant.

"This is Sheriff Northman" I barked at the Queens secretary. I wasn't even going to pretend to be polite. She was used to it at this point anyway.

"Please hold Sheriff."

"May I speak freely for a moment?" I asked, after the series of clicks stopped.

"Of course Eric," Sophie-Anne said. "I hold you in the highest esteem I will hear you always."

"This is bullshit" I growled "And you know it. He wants nothing but to remain with the people who love him. That is his purpose in my area."

"Be that as it may, my position still remains the same."

This too had been the norm and it was infuriating. All throughout negotiations she would listen to my reasoning and then at the end of it she would reinstate her position. It was like bashing my head against a brick wall, a falsely understanding one. Her voice was sweet and comforting too, as if she was my fucking therapist and not the object of my vast ire.

I bit back a growl. Giving her an ultimatum was on the tip of my tongue but I had already told Godric I would do it his way.

"Three days only," I stated. "Her Majesty will provide cars, guards, a secure abode separate from the royal court that is fitting of him and a salary of thirty thousand dollars a month, minus expenses."

The Queen hung up and I knew the matter had been resolved. She had agreed to my demands, no negotiations or bullshit. She might have known what would happen if she attempted to haggle. That solved that but it left me with nothing to focus on. The anger I had been harboring over that had kept me from processing my earlier revelations. I no longer had that luxury. It got worse as I heard Sookie's car putter its way onto my driveway. Before she could knock I opened the door. Godric was trying to find his keys. Yes, even two thousand year old vampires lost their car keys.

"Hello…" I cut off the last part of my usual greeting.

It was funny how a single thought could change so much. Prior to my earlier self-reflection nothing had been awkward. Our dynamic hadn't changed much. She and I were still able to talk and laugh when she came around. I hadn't even stopped calling her lover, until this second and of course she noticed.

"Hey, Eric." her greeting was tentative but she showed no other sign of having noticed my minute hesitation.

Sookie had her hair—and I had to admit I adored her locks—pulled into a neat chignon. Her legs were clad in opaque seamed stockings and she had on sliver colored heels. I stared at her and tried to find something I didn't want. In the dress she had on it was pretty impossible. The sad part, I couldn't even see all of it. Her knee length pea coat was simply left open and I got a glimpse of black lace underneath. It was more than her body I realized with awe. It wasn't her scent. That wasn't want I desired. It was her smile, the sparkle in her eyes, and the happiness that radiated from her. I wanted it her body was...second. I was in such deep shit.

"Can I come in?" she asked. "I'm getting cold."

It was then that I realized I hadn't moved out of her way. I had just parked my frame in the doorway staring at her. I moved with a nod of apology.

"My love," Godric called from the study. He had raised his voice for her benefit.

"Hi baby" She replied. "Where are you? We're gonna be late."

"I'll be just a few moments more, I promise." Calm and even as his voice was I could hear him tearing through the other side of the house at full speeds.

"Can't find your keys again? Huh" She asked with a smile. The expression on her face was one that was just for him. It was affectionate and adoring. It wasn't even directed at me but it warmed as though it was. It further confused the hell out of me.

"It's not that I can't find them," he replied. I could hear the smile in his voice. "They're just never where I remember leaving them."

Sookie chuckled under her breath and shrugged off her coat. "I'll help you look." She looked over her shoulder probably to tell me something but found me staring at her, again. I sighed internally. I hadn't even left home yet and I already felt like I wanted to be dead for another day.

"You okay?" She asked facing me. Her hands were on her hips, her expression inquisitive. Her body was clad in black lace that depicted sin and it took all the centuries of experience I had to keep my eyes on her face. "You're giving off all kinds of vampire weirdness."

You don't know the half, I added mentally. "I told him about taking the job," Godric chimed with a chuckle. Judging by the echo I knew he was in the bathroom. Seriously, why was he in the bathroom in search of his keys? "He's sulking."

"Oh" Sookie said walking as if that explained it all. It didn't, not even a little bit.

"I don't sulk," I snapped. "And how could you be okay with it?" I asked following Sookie into the living room. I found that I was angry. He would deny her nothing. If she had even put up an ounce of resistance he would have continued to let me fend off the Queen. "You realize that he would have to be gone for days at a time now,"

"Don't take that tone with me, Eric," Sookie said. "I don't like it."

It had been so long since we disagreed. I haven't been on the receiving end of her anger in months and I barely recognized it. After I did I welcomed it. This was familiar, fighting with her was good. It was pointless to be picking this fight. I'd already agreed and the deed was done but…

"I don't care what your fancy is. You should have asked him to stay," I said flatly. "But you didn't and now he has to spend three days a week in New Orleans dealing with bullshit."

Godric appeared in the doorway. He closed off his emotions and watched as if we weren't discussing him. He looked between us but said nothing even as the discussion began to deteriorate.

"Do you think that this is what I want?" she asked. She was facing me, hands braced on her hips; scowl in full effect. Under that I saw her pain. My anger instantly fell away and was replaced by guilt. "Do you think I don't want him to stay right here?" She pulled in a deep breath and her anger dissipated. "I agreed for the same reason you did, because he needed me to, because we knew there was no other way." She moved to the chaise lounge and dug her fingers into the cushions. I heard the jingle of car keys being disentangled long before she pulled them out.

"Found them" she called. I was already in my car with my foot pushing the pedal to the floor.

Later that night I walked into an empty house and the silence was deafening. I had no idea why I noticed it now. I never have before. I supposed it was worse with the way I had left things. I hated the quiet but since I wanted something—some ones—I shouldn't the silence was the lesser of two evils. Why couldn't I drum up any negative feelings outside of wistfulness and yearning? Some shame or guilt or jealousy would do me a world of good at the moment but I had none, not where those two were concerned.

At the bar this evening I tried to pick up a fang banger but I simply couldn't touch her. I tried more than one. I tried male and female and the results were the same. I found them all unappealing from the inside out, they were disgusting. I didn't have what I wanted but I didn't want anything else. Fuck my life right now.

Coming home a little early had done nothing to clear my mind. I had a long bath. The tub in the master bath was custom built. I was able to submerge myself in it comfortably and that's what I did. I needed to make sense of what I was feeling or even how I got myself into this. I had to admit I never saw it coming.

The more I thought about it the more obvious it all became. The feeling of wistfulness I had that very first night had been sporadic in the past two months. When either Sookie or Godric was around it faded completely. When one of them touched me even in passing it dimmed. I just never contemplated the thought that it would take both of them to ease me.

I couldn't blame it on the ties I had to my maker. He could sense my emotion but never influence it, not even if he forced his will upon me. It didn't affect emotion. Sookie and I had never shared blood, so that wasn't it. It was a few hours until dawn and I was in my day chamber with the realization that there was no making sense of it. My situation got a lot worse when I heard Godric enter the house and he wasn't alone.

From where I was I could hear the sounds of his trying to get under Sookie's clothes. I heard the thud of shoes as they were discarded, the rustle of clothes, the zip of zippers and the delighted moans that went with being free of them all. That slight yearning was turning into a tidal wave. It was getting worse with every passing second they enjoyed each other's bodies.

I had to wonder if I was just taking note of all these things now because I knew what I really wanted or if I was seeing what I wanted to see because I knew what I wanted. Neither was likely they hadn't been intimate here. Old as Godric was, carnal desires lost their appeal. From what he'd said, I'd been his last sexual partner. It was kind of fitting because I was Sookie's also.

_'They are the best you've ever had' _that was all this was. I kept telling myself that in the hopes that it would sink in and I would stop wanting but no matter how many times I said it nothing in my body changed.

It didn't help that I couldn't censor the images that danced across my mind. First it was the imagines of my most intimate moments with Sookie and Godric separately but they began to raid my mind in unison as their passion began to burn on the other side of the house. It only lit my desire. I craved it like a drug and the symptoms of my withdrawal were growing ever stronger.

I knew what Sookie sounded and looked like as she found her release. I knew the taste of her sweet wine. The same was true with Godric. I knew what he liked. I loved watching him fight the utter loss of control I caused in him. I knew how to push him over that precipice no matter how hard he tried to cling to the edge.

Thankfully Godric was still able to block his emotions from me despite the close proximity. It would have been negligible if I wasn't interested but I was. Then the one thing I thought I couldn't handle happened; Sookie begging for mercy of sorts.

"Baby, please…" she was breathless; her voice was throaty and desperate.

"Patience," Godric purred. "I will ease us both" The tenor in his voice sent shivers up my spine. I recognized that tone and so did my body. My erection went from somewhat under control to rampant in that one instant. It pitched under my sheets and my body sang with all the need that I had been denying.

"Now," she panted. "Need you now."

"As my love wishes" Godric groaned. He never slowed as he continued to drive his body in and out of hers.

I low pained whine escaped through my clenched teeth. The wisest thing for me to get up and out. It was what I should do but I couldn't move. I swallowed against the burn in my throat. My cock was hard and jerked to the beats of Godric's groans. It pulsed and throbbed to Sookie's mews. My eyes closed and grabbed fistfuls of my sheets to retain some control.

I had no idea how long I lay there trying to control it all but I was failing. My cock was weeping, my sac tighten with unspent lust. It was torture but I endured. It all went to shit when Sookie let out a sharp cry as she peaked. She continued to whimper and moan as the force of it pummeled her lithe body. By the way her cries were somewhat muffled I knew her face was in the pillow. I knew just what it was like to be in her as she came. Her body would seize, sucking my shaft deeper into her needy wet canal. Godric couldn't resist following her into bliss. He cursed in Welch. It was the tongue he used when he was truly at his basest, rawest form. I have not heard it in so long.

"…love you," he groaned. "With all that I am."

He plunged into her depths with reckless abandon riding her deeper, harder and faster. With every stroke her mews began mounting into screams. With every stroke he was losing control over his bonds. He was no longer blocking me from the desire and love he felt.

I had no idea how it happened but I found myself outside his bedroom door. My hand was out stretched to grasp the doorknob before I got a grip. I had to get away. With all the determination I could muster I turned from the door and out the door. Pam didn't live too far away. I could rest with her for the day. I hoped the distance would help but already I knew it would be useless.

* * *

At this point I was fairly sure Pam suspected I was on drugs. I was always twitchy and tense, short and edgy. I was sure she could have ignored it if I wasn't taking bringing my crabby mood into her house for the past four days. She was getting pretty sick of it and I knew she would let me have it the minute we rose. I wasn't wrong.

"You have to stop this," My child began. I hadn't moved from the position I rested in. Her day chamber was draped in frills and pink and white lace. I didn't really know where to begin, there was just so many things wrong with subjecting myself to it, especially because it was perfectly safe to go home. It was safe but I was avoiding the inhabitant and his woman.

"You have to stop this," she repeated firmly. "You will make us all miserable."

I kept quiet and waited for her to say her peace and or kick me out. She turned over and as fast as lightening she struck me on both ears with the heels of her palms.

"Have you lost your fucking mind?" I shouted. My ears were ringing. Her lips didn't move and she watched me patiently for the shock to my senses to wear off.

"Cut the shit," She hissed. "You want them and you're denying it."

"It'll pass," I said patiently. "I just need time."

She gave me a look that was equal parts scorn and disbelief "You love Godric," and it wasn't a question "And you love her."

"I don't love her." I snapped knowing exactly who she was referring to. "I just…" words failed me. It was mainly due to the fact that the yearning I felt for the pair had only grown with so little contact from them. Already knew I would be have to go back to see them, it was a matter of time.

"Love her, wait all you want. It isn't going to pass." Pam inserted. She looked ready to hit me again. While I would never really hit her back getting walloped wasn't pleasant. I moved out of her reach instead "If you didn't love her you wouldn't be here hiding. You would be drowning your thoughts in the feel and warmth of nameless faceless woman." Like in the beginning, she didn't say it but it was so heavily implied that she really didn't have to.

The thing about being around someone as perceptive as Pam was that when you lost your shit mentally they were the first ones to know. She didn't even need the advantage of my emotions. The connection that I shared with every other creature through blood was cut off since the other night.

"The only way you're getting back into my house is with an edict," she continued "Face your shit or leave me out of it." she said getting out of bed.

I remained where I was thinking I had done a really good job choosing Pam, too good in fact. There was no way I would give her an edict that would force her to allow me to rest with her. I mean, realistically I could but I wouldn't. I only used edicts to keep her safe. So at the end of a busy Tuesday night I went home.

There I found Godric packing a small backpack. I wasn't alarmed. He would be going to New Orleans. He would be gone from Wednesdays to Saturday, for as long as he wanted to remain in Area five or until Sophie-Anne was appeased. It was a tough call on which would happen first.

"Beloved," His face broke into a smile that had become so familiar since his arrival. I found I had missed it. It made me wonder what all else I had missed. "I hoped you would come." he walked over to me and kissed my cheek. There it was. That calm that I had been searching for but couldn't quite achieve. It came from his touch alone. While most of it dimmed it didn't fade entirely. It was just he and I, Sookie was gone."I have missed you." He murmured.

"And I, you" I told him sincerely.

"But you have been avoiding me," and it wasn't a question.

I averted my eyes but took his hand in mine. "I'll walk with you."

The fastest way for him to get to New Orleans would be to fly there himself. I walked with him at human speeds from the house, heading south. We'd been walking in silence for fifteen minutes before I spoke.

"Nothing would grieve me more than to make you unhappy or hurt." I said because I wasn't exactly sure what his reaction would be to what I had to say. I really couldn't help mentally cursing Sophie-Anne once more. If he wasn't going away I could have procrastinated a few more days.

"Yes," he said with a nod. "I know this."

"I love you…but I think I'm in love with her too"

"And that's what this is about?" He snorted a chuckle.

I hadn't really known how he would react hence my preamble. To have him laugh and shrug it off was the furthest from any guess I could have made. He all but worshiped the ground she walked on. I'd claimed to want nothing but her body. I at least thought he would be wary of my sudden declaration.

"The only person that _thinks_ you love her is you, everyone else knows it." He continued. By everyone I knew he was referring to himself and Pam but I didn't know if Sookie knew. I honestly didn't think so.

"Does she?"

"Moon lights burning," he replied looking up into the sky.

"Wait" I called. There was no way he was not going to answer that question. "Does she?"

"She's as stubborn as you are," was all he said and then he was gone.

* * *

**Ladies and gentlemen can you say, monster posting? Enjoy! A word of caution: PACE YOURSELF. **

**Another big thanks to my beta. Really couldn't have done it without you, thanks for making the time and taking the ride with me! **


	26. Kink, not the good kind

**Chapter Twenty-Six**

The scene in Fangtasia was trying my patience. All evening I'd been trying to understand what Godric meant. He'd said Sookie was as stubborn as I was. I knew that but it didn't answer my questions on-if she knew I loved her. It did lead me to believe that she might feel something for me that she was fighting, much like I'd been fighting. That wasn't farfetched, in the beginning she saw herself caring deeply for me. Had that remained even after her relationship with my maker began? It was possible.

Even if Sookie felt the same, and that was a very big if, what was there to be done? I didn't want to take her from Godric, and I didn't want to take him from her. I wanted to be with _them_ be a part of all that they shared and share all I was with them. It was not something I thought she would accept. I couldn't blame her. It wasn't something many vampires could do, being as inherently possessive as we were. It went without saying that it would be different for us.

Speaking with Sookie was a must but I didn't know what to say. It was pointless going to see her because the lovely telepath came to me the next night. She was waiting for me at the bar when I arrived. I couldn't help but smile. It never dawned on me how much of her I had been seeing lately. I'd missed her so much more than I had ever thought possible. It wasn't just her body or the sweet scent of her. It was the woman, who was my friend, the one that smiled, the one that stuck her tongue out at me for being cheeky. I'd missed just seeing her face and hearing her laugh while I served my self-imposed solitude. Her presence alone was like endless starry nights. That sounded so incredibly…mushy…but it was what came to mind that even began to do her justice.

"Hey," she greeted with a bright smile.

There was something in her smile that was forced. It was nothing like her. It didn't radiant warmth or happiness. It was just her face mimicking movement that she deemed necessary. Something was wrong. Without hesitation I took hold of her elbow and guided her into my office at full vampire speeds.

To her credit she wasted no time commenting on my tactics. "So I was asleep when a vampire showed up at my door last night," She said.

"Who?" I hissed.

My fangs were in full view. She didn't look worried nor should she have. That show of aggression was for the vampire that had dared to encroach on a place that bared Godric's scent. There was no doubt it wasn't a vampire of my area. None of them would dare, especially after what I'd done to Long Shadow in the not too distant past.

"Thalia," Sookie said rubbing the back of her neck.

I growled, low and dangerously. Thalia's modus was defiance. That was how she haunted me. I had no idea she even knew who Sookie was or where she lived. She never cared about that kind of thing. This was never a route she had ever taken before but it was the point that had sealed her fate. Her reckoning was now. In going after Sookie, she had gone too far. I would personally usher her unto the true death.

"Eric," Sookie called as I was heading out the door. "Wait, it _was_ Thalia except it's not her." I paused with my hand on the door to stare at her in question. "She's not herself, she doesn't know where she is, who you are, she didn't even know her name, nothing."

I was aghast and it wasn't for the reason she expected. "You let her into your house, didn't you?" I barked. "What is wrong with you?" I was in front of her. I held her face in my hands "She could have killed you."

My reaction had clearly taken her by surprise, she wasn't the only one. Before her well being would have mattered to me because she was valuable asset to the crown but now it mattered on more than an intrinsic level. I was touching her because I needed to know she was well. All of that happened without my thinking to make it so.

"She was more afraid of me than I was of her," Sookie replied, sounding genuinely distraught. "I couldn't not let her in," right, of course. Heaven forbid she not take in an amnesiac vampire.

It wasn't that I was worried about Thalia per se. It was the situation that surrounded her. It reeked of all kinds of trouble. The trouble part wasn't surprising it was the strangeness of the story so far. If Thalia had been wounded in some way that impaired memory which was really impossible, she should have come to me or Pam. Blood always recognized blood especially if nothing else was familiar. She hadn't.

I looked down at Sookie, thinking of all the things that had been running through my mind. There were questions I wanted her to answer and truths that I wanted to tell. "Take me to her," I said instead, now wasn't the time.

We drove from the bar to the bed of a small lake that skirted a small home. The house was more of a cottage, quaint and so unremarkable it looked as though it sprang from the ground it was built on. The scent of the lake engulfed everything in the area but I could sense the vampire in the area. Thalia. I couldn't sniff her out still I knew she was here, just lying incredible low, somewhere down wind would be my guess.

"It's Sookie," Sookie began. Her voice was so soft that not even a mouse would balk. "The vampire I said I had to find is here." Her steps were slow and I didn't have to be told to follow suit.

Slowly Thalia emerged from a thick stash of bushes. It was eerie. She looked like the vulnerable woman she hadn't been in centuries. Our eyes locked but I knew she didn't know me. Instead of glaring she looked up at me with big green eyes that were filled with uncertainty. She trusted Sookie but she was scared to the final death of me. I was used to Thalia destroying, maiming, killing and breaking. This, what I was looking at was all kinds of fucked. I couldn't even begin to fathom what had happened to her. The perplexing and inexplicable aspects alone gave me the answer: witch. Perfect.

Vampires were rooted in magic and a great witch could wield it like it was nothing. The only good thing about that brand of supernatural was that they were mortal. They were just as breakable and fragile in the flesh like all the rest. It was just getting your hands on one that was tricky. By the number this one had done on Thalia they weren't at all new to the arts. I sighed internally. Apparently no one cared that I had declarations of love to make tonight.

"Can you tell me the last thing you remember before going to her?" I asked the question in Greek hoping it would jog something in Thalia. It worked. She blinked as if surprised that she understood the language and she answered in kind.

"Water and darkness," she replied pulling at the heavy orange sweater Sookie had loaned her. "Is it a common thing?"

I shook my head. Her face fell, and her shoulders slumped. "I'll figure it out then you can get back to being the bane of my existence."

"I am sorry if that was what I was, or am" Thalia murmured, looking away.

I shrugged "I'm quite used to it." I replied.

I was a masochist I realized or maybe I was just processing a lot of emotions in too short a time span. The sane thing to do would be to find this witch and thank her. With a meek and obedient Thalia I wouldn't have to deal with her shit. That was appealing but it would also mean I was letting someone get away with harming a vampire under my protection. That was unacceptable no matter the payoff.

I held my hand out for Sookie and she gave Thalia a reassuring smile before she came over to me. "Keep her hidden at your house for me, please."

Without question or hesitation she nodded her agreement. I cupped her face and kissed her head softly. I expected her to still or tense but she didn't. She wrapped her arms around my waist and leaned into me. I felt like she missed Godric. I didn't know how I could read the emotion without her ever having my blood but I could read it, it was there if only vaguely. Maybe I was able to pick up on it because I missed him too.

"I was going to come to you tonight," I murmured.

"Yeah," she sighed resting her head in my chest.

My chin rested atop her head and the comfort of her touch was a relief I so needed and craved. "Yeah, I wanted to talk." I replied. I wished we were alone somewhere and not being watched by my amnesic offspring. "I guess it'll have to wait."

I left Sookie and Thalia to begin searching for a way to make sense of all this. The first place I went to was Thalia's house. By house I meant the tomb she kept at the cemetery in Monroe. It had been disturbed by some kind of two natured. Her other place, a studio apartment on the borders of my area hadn't been left intact either. That made absolutely no sense. The locations were tens of miles apart. I was looking for a place that was close to water but I couldn't think of anything that was along her route to either places.

Frustrated I returned to the bar to pick Pam's brain. I told her of all that had had happened. I needed a different point of view and I could always trust hers. Like always she didn't disappoint.

"She does her patrols," Pam said. "The square is a place to look."

The square was the place where Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas and Louisiana kind of kissed. It was also in the asshole of nowhere. There were no towns, just woodlands, bogs and…a small body of water, lake something or another. It never occurred to me because the thought of Thalia doing something I said was unheard of.

"That was where she was attacked most definitely but where are her attackers?" I mused out loud staring at the map on my desk. They had to be close.

I had half expected that whoever had attacked Thalia would be foolish enough to make their presence known. Most witches were too cocky to be careful. This one wasn't. To openly pick a fight with a sheriff of a vampire regent would be equal to reopening the Salem witch trials. Yes, that was us, vampires glamouring humans into attacking them but they had started it.

"You've wanted her gone and gone she is." Pam said. I looked at her wondering if she'd had a bad night and was now being snappish or if she was actually being serious.

"Since you are obviously done being helpful you may go." I bit back.

She ignored me, "I wondered if your love is conditional upon obedience, a sense of humor and a charming smile," she folded her hands across her chest and rested against the office door. Though I wasn't looking up I felt the weight of her stare. I ground my teeth because I was in a less than patient mood and she was pushing me. Her words cut too deep. The misconceptions of them were too much, it stung. There was no one I had ever catered to the way I did her. Everything she had ever desired of me she had been given. The only limitations were those to her safety. I had treated her so well because I didn't want another Thalia.

"Are you done," I asked calmly. Pam was turning into my walking talking conscience and emotional translator. I had to admit I really hated it. I wasn't through dealing with one thing and she was already piling on another.

"I am hypothesizing. Maybe there was no disagreement maybe you did something you regret and she reminds you of it always." she replied with a shrug. "You refuse to tell me what happened,"

I growled low and dangerous. "All you need to know is that if anyone is to end Thalia it's going to be me." I'd fucking earned it. Pam eyed me for a moment but nothing and since she was done force feeding me my demons we returned to strategic planning.

The first thing that registered to my senses at first dark the next night was the ringing of my phone. It was Sookie, "Eric," she sang once the line connected. "Hi,"

Her voice was sunny and chipper. That would have been great, if I didn't detect the manic undercurrent to it. In fact the last time she sounded like this was at the church in Dallas. I really hoped that was where the similarities ended. While I wasn't sure what I heard in the background I knew it was trouble. I listened harder and it sounded like the drumming of paws. That couldn't be right. There were just entirely too many.

I was already up and dressed. "Are you alright?" I asked. That was what I cared about. She hummed her ascent, "Is Thalia?"

"Yeah, so hey, um…listen, I'm fairly confident I won't get mauled by the pack of were witches…"

"What!" I gasped. I was horrified and angry. "Where are you?"

"The docks in Shreveport," She replied. I was already out of the house and in the air. She said something else but it was drowned out by a piercing howl, one that was answered by snarls and barks of wolves.

"Listen to me," I begged, idling in the air. "Do not hide, run or find higher ground." My panic was full blown but I didn't race off yet. This might save her. "They can't swim. If all else fails jump in the water." In the late November weather she might freeze but I wouldn't let that happen.

I was moving as fast as my body would allow. There was only one thing on my mind, Sookie. Coming in at a close second was committing mass murder. I would bathe in the blood of the ones that threatened her. I landed at the docks in time. Pam touched down right at my back. I never called her but she knew me enough to know if I was letting her feel my emotions I needed her.

I had taken inventory of the scene from the air. Sookie was safe, as safe as she could be in this situation. There were two werewolves in front of her standing in her defense. She was in the middle of an all-out war that between two werewolf packs. I wanted to groan. How? How had she managed to be here of all the places in the world?

It was all out war. Everyone who had a wolf form was wearing it. It left me with a predicament. I didn't know which ones to kill. It became very easy when some of them turned on Pam and I, the wolves in the area knew better. These ones were all but foaming at the mouth, snapping and salivating. They were circling us but we didn't flinch.

"Well bitches," Pam drawled, sounding bored. "Are we going to dance, or what? We don't have all flipping night, you know."

We grinned and slipped into identical attack positions then the blitz ensued. This fight should have been easier. These wolves were strong, unnaturally so. I didn't realize why until one of them clawed at me and lost his ever loving mind at the scent of my blood. He stopped lunging for my throat and began trying to lap at the wound. Perfect just fucking perfect, we were dealing with werewolves that were addicted to V.

"Pam, get in the air." I ordered.

She couldn't. She was buried under her current opponent keeping his massive jaws from her neck. I snapped the neck of the wolf closest to me. I used his limp form as a cannonball to knock Pam's opponent off her. The distraction didn't last long but it was long enough.

Thalia landed in true Thalia form. Her presence was loud and impossible to ignore. She left a wide crater upon impact. She shot me a look that was familiar in its hostility but that was all. There was no recognition. She took inventory of the wolves trying to corral me shot then she shot off in the opposite direction. Normally I would be annoyed but she was beside Sookie acting in her defense so I pardoned her utter indifference to my well-being.

Pam and I changed fighting styles. I began launching the mutts into the air and she picked them off from there or they shattered on impact once gravity set in. The herd was thinning and I was pushing my way closer to Sookie one wolf at a time. I was completing the task with single minded ferocity but a part of my senses were on her. I didn't so much as see it or even feel it within me. I sensed it. It was a tingle of something unpleasant washing over my skin. Then the scent of her blood permeated the air. It was followed by her sharp intake of breath that ended on a hiss of pain.

"Pam!" I called looking beside me.

"Go" she replied.

I was in the air and by Sookie's side. There was a dagger buried in her left shoulder just above her heart. It wasn't life threatening but it hurt, it pierced cartilage and cracked bone. I never thought it would be possible to feel such a tangled mixture of anger, terror and pain for an injury that I did not suffer. The sight of her blood staining her blouse, the image of her gritting her teeth in pain, and the tremor in her hands as she tried to wretch the dagger free, all added to that emotion. It was hell for me to watch.

My hand intercepted hers and I held it tight. "Look at me," I said. I knew she wasn't susceptible to glamour but I tried anyway. "It's okay. It doesn't hurt." I kept her eyes in mine "It's just a scratch." She nodded and I pulled the knife out. She didn't scream but she all but crushed my fingers. With my back against the wall I gathered her in my arms and bit into my wrist then I brought the wound to her lips.

"It's not so bad," she huffed. "You don't have to."

"Want to," I insisted. "Drink."

It was more than a want. It was a need. I needed to know how much pain she was in. I needed to shoulder all of it that I could and I needed to comfort her. She leaned in and latched on and instead of the flare of lust that accompanied blood exchanges, I felt utterly whole. It was completely bizarre considering the mayhem all around me but there was no denying that almost tangible glow I felt kick into existence as she drank from me. I held her tighter and her body relaxed further into my embrace.

Beside us I saw Thalia had a dark haired woman pinned down. She was a were by the smell of her but she also reeked of magic. I only had a second to see her face before Thalia twisted her head clean off her shoulders. That too, was typical Thalia behavior. The eyes of the newly deceased woman blinked several times. The ticks stopped and at the same time Thalia let out a piercing shriek. She fell to the ground and convulsed. Her hands were buried in her hair as if to keep it from exploding.

I was at her side but there were no signs of physical damage which meant nothing. I held her to me and tried to keep her from doing more harm to herself as her body contorted in pain. It lasted half a minute and then her body went slack in my arms. I knew she was herself again the moment our eyes locked. She looked horrified and pulled away instantly realizing who held her.

Thalia took one look the scene and said, "I didn't do it."

* * *

**Review! It's like tipping your waitress! :-] **


	27. Whole

** I DON'T KNOW THE LAST TIME I GAVE MY BETA A SHOUT OUT BUT THANKS A MILLION. REBECCA! BTW THE LONG AWAITED LEMON IS BELOW. I HAD FUN WITH IT AND I HOPE YOU DO TOO. **

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Seven**

I flew Sookie back to my house. I hadn't even taken the time to get a proper debriefing. Once Thalia left Pam, Sookie and I had been right behind her. The damn werewolves could clean up after themselves. We had barely gotten into the door when I felt him. Godric was close. I couldn't say where, he was he was moving too fast. It was Saturday and while I hadn't forgotten he was coming home, I'd been up to my eyebrows in werewitch bullshit.

"Shit," Sookie said. We were thinking along the same lines. "Get changed, hurry." She was tugging her blood soaked shirt over her head. I ferried her upstairs and deposited her in the shower with her jeans half off. Then I gathered the clothes, both hers and mine and tossed him in the back of the closet. I washed my hands and face so I was free of blood. That was as far as the cleanup got.

I heard Godric land on the front steps. By the time the knob was turning I was seated in the living room with a towel wrapped around my waist looking cool as you please. I'd turned the television on pretending to be interested in Jeopardy.

With his senses, the minute Godric entered the house he could detect it all. He stood in front of the door, his hair windblown, his eyes narrowed, and his body coiled to spring. I understood the feeling. He probably had been miles away when he felt Sookie's panic and pain; coupled with mine it must have left him imagining the worst. Idly, I wondered if giving her my blood had dimmed his access to her emotions and if that added to his worry. I hoped not.

"What. Happened." he demanded.

Several replies ran through my mind. "Nothing we couldn't handle," I settled on saying. "We are fine."

He tilted his head to side and I practically saw his senses move into hyper drive. I never really thought about how super senses annoyed me until it wasn't in my favor, like right now. "So, you gave her your blood because nothing happened." I shrugged. "And you are dry and wearing a towel, why?"

Okay, I truly hadn't expected him to buy it. I was hoping I could maybe get him in a less anxious frame of mind before I was forced to come clean. He had been so happy lately that that was all I wanted for him. I didn't want to upset him more and the truth was upsetting but I refused to lie to him either. It wasn't because he would feel the deception, it was just because I never lied to him. "All is well, truly," I replied.

"Eric," he said setting down his bag and coming over to me "I know what you feel, both of you, but not knowing what befell the people I love is worse, so much worse. Just tell me, please."

The thing he and Sookie had in common was that I could refuse them nothing when they begged but I also knew if it were me, I would want to know. So I told him about Sookie's injury, about Thalia being cursed and about the werewolves.

"For right now," I concluded, "That is all I know."

Getting Sookie away from the disaster area had been a higher priority. I didn't know how that mutt, Alcide, dragged her into something like this. For that matter I didn't know how Thalia had done the same. I didn't see nearly as much violence as she seemed to find just getting out of bed in the morning and I was a freaking vampire sheriff. I had to laugh in frustration. It would be my luck that the first human I fell in love with would be a magnet for all kinds of trouble.

"What's funny?" Godric asked. He was calmer now. The worry that had him wound so tightly seemed to have fallen away almost entirely.

"Sookie," I replied running my fingers through my hair. "You realize the woman we love is an absolute disaster."

It was the sharp intake of breath that alerted me to her presence. I hadn't forgotten she was here. I'd just been wrapped in my thoughts and her steady heartbeat had been thrumming through my mind. But I never heard the shower turn off or her getting dressed and moving downstairs. And to think, I'd been visualizing a proper way to make my feelings known. Inadvertent exposure didn't make the cut.

There was silence as she gaped at me and then at Godric and back again. She seemed to be caught between wanting to run and needing to hyperventilate. I could only imagine what she was feeling. Then I realized she had my blood. I didn't have to wonder. I tuned into the part of me that was in her. There was a profound sense of joy, a bone deep sense of love and belonging, but also fear and uncertainty. It certainly took me long enough but I knew what I felt and where I wanted to be. I didn't want her to ever be unsure of me again.

"I don't expect anything," I said, and it was the truth. Considering how hard she fought, and all the good reasons I'd given her to resist me, I had no expectations. I was willing to earn her trust and love no matter what it took. "Nothing has to change, if that is not what you want, truly."

She looked down at her hands for a full minute and then she risked a glance at me from under her lashes, "What if I want it to?" she murmured. "What if I love you too?" She looked at me full on then and I couldn't say what expression I was wearing. This was the one thing I wanted most. She walked towards me and I fought the urge to run to her. "I mean…what if I want things to change?"

She was in front of me and I was barely able to form my reply. "I would welcome it. I would hold onto you and I would never let you go."

It wasn't until that point that Godric let the hold on his bonds go. I felt his relief and the utter sense of completion. This was what he wanted. Reading in further, I realized that this was what we all wanted. Sookie stood and it felt like she was leaving herself totally exposed for me. I somehow knew to make a move. In closing the inch gap between us I would be taking a greater leap. I took it.

I have shared lovers with Godric but that been nothing but a prelude to a feast. We partook in it after hard fought battles or before a long journey. The carnal pleasure was nothing but a side effect of having that much blood available all at once. This, what I was experiencing now, was in a league all its own. I was laid on the bed and had both he and Sookie touching, kissing and tasting me.

They were kissing their way up my body, side by side, inch by excruciating inch. Every caress from the hands of my lovers left me feeling rawer and so emotionally bare. It loosened the tether on my control. This was more than physical. I felt so whole with them that I wondered how I ever managed to go without.

Godric rose. He kissed his way up my chest. The look of pure want and adoration he wore only made me want him more. I reached out and pulled him closer and he kissed me. It wasn't the light pecks I'd been receiving. This was so wrought with lust and love that I was stunned. Truly it was impossible to love one person do much. He kissed me as I felt Sookie dragging her nails up my thighs. Her breath was falling on my weeping erection making me ache. The torment lasted only a second then she took me into her mouth.

"More," I moaned. Godric's lips left mine. He moved to my neck and kissed and marked me. I threw my head back to allow him better access. He teased the hollow beneath my ear, the hollow of my throat. That was normally enough to make me want but combined with how Sookie laved and suckled me it was too much. This was heaven and I was lost. They had reduced me to this, the both of them.

I shuddered and moaned and cried out helplessly with all they did to me. I was falling much too hard, much too fast but I didn't want it to stop. I never wanted this to stop. My back arched off the bed; my eyes closed; my fingers were clutching at the sheets as I fought for control. Godric allowed his fang to scrape over a nipple, at the same time Sookie cupped my tightened sack.

"Can't…" I groaned. That was all I managed to get out, then this world crumbled and gave way to another. I was in a place where nothing else mattered. I was a baser creature and all I wanted, all I needed was the people in the bed with me. I had to have them.

It was a mercy that they sensed that maddening desire. I didn't have long to wait before Sookie mounted me. I wanted to think that the choked moan that resounded through the room didn't belong to me, but it did. I'd wanted to be inside her since the moment I left her. Godric and I hadn't been intimate in so long. His touch was not one I had ever forgotten. The dripping wetness of her tight hot glove, encasing me, the feel of his hands in my hair, I was relishing the feel of having both come together.

"I've missed you," Sookie moaned. Her back was to me and my arms were around her waist, cupping her breasts and holding her close as she continued to ride me. We were on the very edge of the bed and Godric was below heightening the pleasure for all of us. They owned me and I savored it. I wanted to be owned. It also meant that I wouldn't last, not at all. No one ever felt the way either of them did, individually. To have both at the same time, to love them the way I did, to want and crave like I did, and to have that need fulfilled was more than I could handle. I couldn't last.

"Bite," I growled. Already I could feel my climax; the force of it was making me quiver. "Both of you bite me." I felt half out of my mind but I wanted them drinking from me as I experienced this blinding moment of completion. "Now!" and they did.

I heard the different crescendos as we all found release, and I felt it all. The last thing I was able to consciously identify was the difference between Godric's fangs and the bluntness of Sookie's teeth. Then I was transported into a plane of the most hedonistic passions. It was like having my body be emptied and transformed into nothing but a raw nerve. I was in a place where all my sensory organs were attuned to pleasure only. It was too much, much too much.

This was he strongest orgasm of my life and it was also the longest. This felt so good it hurt. It hurt even more because I had absolutely no control. I couldn't channel it or slow it down. I never ever knew anything could feel like this. This was not a high I had ever reached with Godric in my early days or that time with Sookie alone.

Everything added to that pinnacle and seemed to drag it out; the sheets on the bed, the drying fluids on my body, the feel of the pillow under my head. In another part of my mind I was vaguely aware of writhing as if I was in pain. Yet, it was the polar opposite.

"Is he okay?" an angelic voice asked, and even the sound of that made me want. My body trembled as if it knew what and who that was and all the joys it could bring.

"Don't touch him my love," someone else called. "He couldn't handle it at the moment." That voice was deeper but the effects were the same. I had no idea how much of this I could take. I heard myself moaning and groaning as this frenzied orgasmic storm continued soaring through me.

Angel voice, "What's wrong with him?"

"Remember the first time we exchanged blood? How insatiable I was? " The deeper voice asked. "It is like that for him, multiplied by ten, I couldn't control myself and neither could you so he fed off our pleasure as we drank from him. The flood gates crashed so to speak."

There was a gasp, "He'll be okay?"

There was husky chuckle. The tremor of it, faint as it was in the air, sent ripples over my flesh that made me hurt, hurt so good. "He's having the longest and most explosive orgasm of his life. It's not him you should worry about. It's us."

I was gaining more ground mentally. I knew the state my body was in and how it got there. I just had to get past the worst of it. The air in the room stopped being so lascivious. The all-consuming blind lust receded. The sheets didn't feel like a lover's most intimate caress. I was getting a hold of myself, enough to recognize voices.

"Once the worst of the high wears off," Godric started. I felt him and Sookie so close to me. I felt the heat of her body and the lust of his scent. "He'll want…"

"Again," I supplied looking at them both. "I want you both, again."

I was indulged in all the wickedness of the flesh that I could handle. No matter how many times I rose my lovers sated my need. I took all that they could give and they inducted me into something new. Godric and I initiated our lover, our mate, into all the ways we could please her. All I could remember was her cries, our groans of delight. It was nothing but a blur of passion, pleasure and the barest bit of pain. I never wanted it to end but it had to. The sun rose and I was dead for the day. If it hadn't I would have glutted myself to the point of insanity.

I rose at first dark the next night in a cluster of limbs and warmth. Sookie was still asleep. I could tell she had left the bed at some point. She had on a t-shirt that belonged to me and was tucked under Godric's arm. My arm was draped over them both from my place behind her. This was the most peace and solace I'd found in centuries. It was almost comical how I didn't know I was missing something or someone's until I had them right here in my arms. I never wanted to move.

"I know the feeling." Godric whispered. I shot him a questioning look. That hadn't been a coincidence. He knew what I was thinking at least to some extent. "Her blood doesn't make us telepathic, just more intuitive with one another," he smiled and traced my bottom lip with his free hand. "I know you don't want to leave the bed, because I don't want to either. I have never seen her sleep so soundly," he concluded looking down. I kissed his fingers but remained still.

I had to admit that I enjoyed watching Sookie sleep. I think both Godric and I did. There was nothing confrontational or combative about her. Her beauty took on a different light. She was serene and peaceful. It was nothing like when she was awake. She was just a fair-haired beauty with a button nose and kissable lips dreaming of pretty things.

From somewhere in the house I heard my phone. Pam was probably looking to end me. She had overseen the cleanup of the battle. She had also debriefed Thalia and the Shreveport Weres to get details of what happened. Just thinking of what I had to deal with had me wanting to crawl back into bed. It couldn't be helped.

"I need to go," I said to Godric. He was home for three more days. I wasn't sure what Sookie's work schedule was but I would make time to be with them. "I'll see you both tonight."

He nodded and held Sookie tighter the instant I let her go. "We will wait for you." I kissed them both lightly on the lips, and I left.

The first person I had to see was Pam. She looked annoyed but had more or less contained the situation and she had some facts. "Basically," she began, "Hallow and her pack thought they could out power the local pack if they had the extra boost of vampire blood. The one we kept said they were supposed to find a vampire source to keep on tap." She rolled her eyes. "They obviously chose the wrong vampire," she mused.

"You spoke to Thalia?" I asked.

She grimaced, "Her natural temperament wasn't improved by the fact that she can't remember anything, as she can recall one minute she was in the square the next she was at the docks." A smirk fell over Pam's face, "So where did you get off to last night?"

I smiled and said nothing as I headed for the bar. She chuckled and came along side me. "You'll need my help with relationship rituals. I read about them a lot." I had to laugh. Only someone who had no hands-on experience would refer to the events of a relationship as 'rituals'. I was out of touch but I could just go off what I felt for Sookie and Godric and what I knew they felt for me. It would work. It did for the most part because knowing emotion did nothing to understand the cause of it.

* * *

"Lover, explain to me again why you insist on working."

Two weeks later I was in Sookie's home trying to get her to move in with Godric and me. I had also been trying to get her to quit her job. I had also been trying to buy her a new car. I was having no success with all of it. Godric too had apparently failed in the endeavor. These were all things that were important to her I knew, living alone, making her own money and keeping her outdated car. I knew I just didn't understand.

She sighed, "Eric, sweetheart how long you gonna beat this dead horse, huh?" There was a smirk on her face.

"Till it comes back to life," I answered. It wasn't that unbelievable an answer coming from me. I have, after all died before.

I moved to her and helped her tie her shoes. She smiled and cupped my face. There was no way to explain the hold she had on me. When she touched me I felt so many things all at once. My body stilled to wait what she or her body would ask of me. It was the same for Godric. She had our blood in her but it was as if our bond had centered on her.

"I love it when you pout," she kissed the corner of my lips. "It's sweet and sexy."

I tried not to smile but lost. I leaned into the touch like I wanted to. "That explains why you never give me my way." I grumbled.

"Christmas is in less than three weeks you can get me something," she allotted.

"A car?"

She leaned forward and kissed my lips, drawing a sigh from me. "Think smaller, much smaller."

I had never paid attention to holidays Christmas was no exception. When it came into existence I had already been a vampire for fifty years. This year was different because Sookie loved it. She never had to say it for me to know that she had spent this and every other holiday alone. This year had Godric and me to spend it with. We took it as a license to splurge. That and only that was the only reason why I was in a red t-shirt instead of my usual all black ensemble.

Tonight was Christmas Eve and I in Sookie's little home. The tree had been decorated weeks ago and presents had been piling underneath. I still had one more that couldn't be boxed. Just thinking of her reaction was enough to make me smile at her as she whizzed passed me. Her eyes were bright and she was brimming with too much happiness for me to pay heed to the fact that I was in the same room as Alcide and the visit was social. No, I wasn't hallucinating.

Somehow the little 'get together' my lover had planned on Christmas Eve had turned into a party. I had no idea how. That wasn't entirely true, I knew exactly how. She had said please and I had caved knowing the guest list. Once Pam got involved as executive party planner, there was nothing I could do even if I wanted to.

The atmosphere wasn't as tense as I would expect considering there were three different species in the small farm house. Most of my vampires were present. In addition to Alcide I also had to endure Steve or was it Silas the shifter, the were panther Calvin Norris, Terry her former human roommate, along with his wife and there were a hand full of other humans whose names I couldn't remember. That wasn't the worst of it Bill had been invited no matter how many eye rolls I inserted, Compton was present. I really couldn't believe I let him feed her his blood and let him live after seeing her naked.

"I guess she's not coming." Sookie said to Pam. They were in the kitchen warming more bloods.

"Who?" I entered the kitchen and wrapped my arm around her waist. She'd sounded disappointed.

"Thalia," she replied leaning into me. "I invited her."

Okay. There were a couple things wrong with that. The main one being that Thalia still didn't remember anything from the time she spent here. She was back to her old self, scowls, defiance and all. While Sookie might have a soft spot for the tiny ancient vampire the feeling wasn't at all mutual. I didn't touch any of them. "It was nice of you to invite her but she prefers to be alone."

She sighed and I knew the no show really bothered her. "Even the devil may cry when he looks around hell and finds he's alone."

I kissed her head but said nothing. Many nights before she drifted off to sleep she would ask Godric and I to tell her stories of our past and she often did the same. There was something in her that wanted to reach out to all broken and lonely creatures she came across. It was because she'd spent most of her life being one of them.

Luckily I got the perfect distraction. "You get an early present," I said kissing her head.

She gave me an inquisitive look as I pulled her to the back door. "Oh, Eric" Her breath caught and she gasped audibly. Her hand flew over her mouth and everything. I had done exceptionally well. It took really extreme things to make my woman speechless.

"Merry Christmas, lover"

Elvis Presley or Bubba as he was now known smiled at me. That night he gave Sookie his best rendition of "_Have yourself a merry little Christmas_" It lasted from two minutes of the eve and a minute into Christmas day. He sang several other songs and it was pleasing to all. Sookie looked happier than I had ever seen her. Seeing her like this made me want to keep that happy always.


	28. Danger

**Chapter Twenty-Eight**

"I can't even sneeze without knocking one of these damn boxes over," Sookie grumbled. She looked around her crowded home for the easiest route into her bedroom. There wasn't one.

I smiled. The end of January meant a home invasion for Sookie. She had been on her way to work this afternoon only to have three UPS vans show up and turn her quaint little home into a warehouse, the very day after she took down her Christmas tree. Like I had predicted many regents had taken it upon themselves to attempt to entice her with presents and trinkets.

Unfortunately for her they had been delivered through Sophie-Anne, who had been waiting for the pile to grow and then she had them all delivered to Sookie. It had been a way for her Majesty to save on shipping but it annoyed the hell out of my lover.

There came a sad little meow from somewhere in the living room. "Casey," Sookie called, changing direction. "Aw, poor thing. I'm coming."

Casey was a kitten. She had been Godric's Christmas gift to Sookie. Her coat was a deep even shade of grey that looked blue in some lighting. Sookie adored her. I had no idea why. That little flea bag was the devil wearing a fur ball. The first chance she got, she'd carved and clawed my leather jacket and it has been downhill from there. When Sookie was around she acted all angelic but when her back was turned, Casey hissed and clawed at me. It had nothing to do with me being a vampire. She liked Godric just fine, Pam too.

In her haste to reach her pet Sookie bumped a precarious stack of boxes and narrowly managed to prevent it from toppling.

"I'll get her," Godric offered.

"Thank you," she huffed. She looked around at the mountains of boxes and garment bags. "I don't even know where to start."

I went over and took her hand. She looked and felt overwhelmed. "You'll have to stay with us until you can in fact sneeze without knocking something over."

She snorted, "You just don't quit, huh?"

I shook my head unrepentant which made her chuckle. We worked through the piles attacking boxes that were making navigating dangerous. The process took longer because Sookie insisted on keeping a log of who sent what. No matter how annoyed she was I knew her manners would never allow her to not send thank you cards to each and every person who had sent her something.

The box I just opened held an oval Victorian hand mirror. It was one of those things that a vampire my age saw, and it took us back to that time. The design was intricate, it showed a winged cupid with a bow and arrow pointed at a long haired woman whose body formed the handle. The two are surrounded by roses. This was early eighteenth century. It was in the handmade craftsmanship and the detail. It was also made of silver which was very popular then. The mirror came with a pair of ivory hair combs and a hair brush both were adorned with diamonds and sapphires. What I found odd was that the set wasn't new. It was in no way worn but it carried the scent of polish. The card attached was from someone named Christoff.

"Not all are from Regents," I noticed.

"No," Godric said. He had unwrapped yet another box that held a gown. "Some are from individuals that had claims approved."

I held the box out to Sookie because I couldn't touch it. She gasped in awe. It was the first time all evening that anything had remotely impressed her. "This is beautiful," she said. "Who's it from."

"Someone named Cristoff,"

"I remember him," Godric said.

"He's the one you told me about?" Sookie asked "With the wife?"

Knowing I had no idea what they were talking about but was interested Godric filled me in. "A decade after his turning he returned and found the wife he had left behind dying. He turned her but she refused to leave their children. Together they have watched over their decedents from the shadows. Now she is gone because of one man's hate and greed. He wants to end existence but…"

"It's not what she would have wanted." I said softly. That sat heavily with us all for a few moments. The moment Steve Newlin ever showed his face in the night, he was dead. All vampires now knew what he had done. Human police had uncovered evidence of him dealing weapons from his church. He was a man that would die in a hole because he wasn't safe under the moon or the sun.

Sookie stroked the back of the mirror gently then she covered it and gently set it down. "Come on, that's enough for one day." She packed and together we headed back to Shreveport. They dropped me off at Fangtasia before heading home.

I was barely through the doors when Pam began her nightly briefing. "Stan wants Sookie to train his telepath." She gave me a folder that held his restrictions.

Sookie no longer worked for me. She was also my mate. I was now well versed in the dynamics of a relationship to know that making a call on this was a guaranteed fight between Sookie and I. I knew that while she had been the one that offered it to Barry in the first place, I still couldn't agree or disagree without her consent. There was nothing she hated more than feeling like she had no say in her life.

"Someone killed the local drainers,"The Rattrays had been under surveillance. I wasn't going to have them executed over something Sookie had found, which was true. I had just been waiting for them to do something new. They hadn't.

"Who?" I asked.

"Don't know, officially it's being ruled an accident; trailer caught fire," she shrugged unconcerned. If you asked me they deserved worse. "Thalia is acting strange,"

"Strange, how?"

She shrugged. "For more good news," she gestured over to a thick manila envelope on my desk. "We were billed our tariffs for this year at last year's rate. We need to audit in order to be paid the difference returned from her Majesty, and note that when I say we, I mean you."

I gave her a baleful expression, "That's your job."

"I've already done it," she said turning for the door. "You can send it as it is and forfeit the two hundred thousand, or you can do it. I can't stand doing the same thing twice."

Later that night, after enthralling the vermin, reading over Stan's ridiculous terms and keeping an eye on Thalia (who was acting weird, though I couldn't say exactly how) I had to go home to pour over my taxes. There, my lovers waited with smiles and kisses of welcome. It wasn't about sex. It was about being with them seeing their smiles, listening to their voices and simply soaking in their presence. I was missing all that, for math.

"I'm not in the mood, you little demon," I said to Casey, the kitten from hell. I don't even know how she got in. I had been in my study trying to get through my paper work. "Don't test me." In response to my threat she hissed and her hackles rose. "I warned you." I flashed out of my seat and had her by the scruff of her neck before she could blink. Of course that was when Sookie walks in.

Seeing her protector, Casey immediately turned her aggressive hissing into pathetic mews. You would think I was hurting her, which I wasn't. I was just trying to get her out of my study before she peed on something.

"Eric," she barked. "Why are you always picking on her?" Behind her back Godric was shaking with silent amusement, he knew I was getting a bad rep. If it didn't amuse him so much he might attest to my suffering. "Did the mean old Viking scare you?" Sookie said taking the cat from me.

I scoffed "She's just lucky she's not big enough to make a fur hat out of yet."

Sookie swatted at me then set the cat down and gently shooed her out of the room. "You're just cranky because you hate paper work."

"We have come to help," Godric said.

"Yeah," Sookie said kissing my cheek. "so stop pouting,"

I didn't bother arguing that I wasn't pouting. I would take their presence even if it didn't come with much help. While we worked, I told Sookie about Stan wanting her to train Barry. Of course she agreed. She didn't mind his terms even though it meant she would have to fly to Texas. Neither Godric nor I liked the idea but she would be there during the day and wouldn't venture from the airport for any reason.

Dawn was close by the time I was finished. I had long abandoned my leather chair. Sookie and I sat on the floor with our backs to the couch on either side of Godric's feet. He ran his fingers through my hair and I relaxed. My head fell back and I let the feel of his fingers in my scalp melt my tension away. There was no physical kinks in me, what he rubbed away was mental. He combed his fingers through my hair and drifted down, to the nape of my neck and then my shoulders. With every touch I received I wanted more. I was rubbing my face against his thigh and leaning into every caress. No longer was a deriving comfort from him my body was teeming with the need to make love and be loved. I wanted him.

The physical expression of love I shared with my lovers couldn't be classified as sex. It was in a level all it's on and I still couldn't bring myself to reacting any differently when the three of us made love. It was a blinding and powerful thing each and every time. Nights like this one, nights before he left there was an edge of hunger that made us all insatiable. Truly I never knew sex could be like this.

"Take all that you need," Godric said. He had left the couch. His face was inches from mine and his eyes burned a bright captivating shade of amethyst. "I will give you all that you desire." I cupped him by the back of the neck and drew him to me. Our kiss was slow but all the while our hunger grew.

I was sharing my body with the two people that knew it best. There were no needs for words. The bonds that held us always guided us in how to please one another. It was always explosive. It always felt right. I couldn't really describe the bond I now shared with my lovers. It wasn't a typical blood bond, where a vampire shared blood three or more times with a human.

This was something between a maker and child and we were binding ourselves to a human but it in turn heightened what we shared. It was separated from the ties that bound me already; this was new and entirely autonomous of that which he used to give me new life. I could sense both their emotions but could exert no control over Sookie's will because she had Godric's blood and the same was true for him. No matter how many times we shared our blood with her that didn't change and it was the way we wanted it.

Sookie was content to watch and so she did. All that we felt in lavishing each other's bodies, she knew. It wasn't long before she couldn't remain idle. There was something in feeling both of them at the same time. With her between us I felt Godric and he felt me. With every thrust into her depths I felt them both. I felt every nuance of pleasure. It was like giving pleasure and then receiving it tenfold. One round of love making couldn't last long with the three of us together because it was so intense.

By mid-February, despite my sabotaging the process we had been able to get Sookie's home in order and she was going back.

"Stay," I said.

"You threaten to strangle Casey every other day," she joked.

"I'll tolerate the little monster," I said. I just wanted her here with us. I liked the fact that her scent was saturating into every room of the house. I liked that I saw her every day, even though it was just to slide in beside her and watched as she slept. I wanted her with me always. Sensing it she wrapped her arms around me and buried her face in my chest.

"Eric…" she didn't seem to know how to continue. Her emotions clouded. She felt torn, guilty and ashamed.

"No." I said pulling her away and forcing her to look at me. "Please, don't do that to yourself," I brushed my knuckles across her cheek. She smiled though it was brittle and she leaned into my touch. "I understand we can't lock you here away from the world. It would make the minds of others louder if you're gone too long. I understand that I just want…"

She rose on the tips of her toes and kissed me. In that kiss her emotions shifted from negative to positive. I felt all her adoration and devotion. I felt how much she wanted me. I felt how much loved me. Never, would I want her to feel like she was shortchanging me as a mate just because she didn't want to abandon her whole life for me. I kissed her goodbye and promised myself I wouldn't broach the issue again.

* * *

It was Saturday and Godric was set to return but what I got was much worse instead. I had just risen for the night and the first thing I felt his alarm it was quickly followed by piercing pain. Sookie and I both felt the shrill and unfamiliar emotion and that only made it worse for us. Like the feelings of elation we had grown so used to, this one echoed and ricocheted off him to Sookie and then to me and back again.

I got the call from Sophie-Anne herself and that made me more afraid. "He lives," My Queen said. "He was attacked just outside my boundaries."

"How?" I asked.

"I know not," she replied "I will keep him until he is well and then you must come to claim him, for I desire no blame in this matter." then she hung up. It went unsaid but she thought I blamed her and having no other suspects I did.

Through that twenty five second phone call I had received about three missed calls from Sookie. I'd tried to calm her through the bond but she wasn't having any of it. "He's okay," I said the minute the lines connected. Even as we continued to speak I felt his pain retreating. It wasn't that the damage had been undone. He was simply sound enough in mind to block us because he knew it was what we needed. "I don't know what happened."

"Sophie-Anne was supposed to protect him," she growled. She didn't sound worried she sounded beyond furious and somewhat homicidal. She was feeding off my anger, obviously. "He can't go back if she can't keep him safe in her area."

"I agree," I said gathering everything I needed to leave. It was mostly weapons and a jacket to cover said weapons.

She made a noise that was somewhere between a hiss of aggression and a moan of pain. Her worry, that had been buried under her ire was rising quickly. "Calm down, lover please." It would feel like I was being pulled apart if her distress continued. Knowingly, she pulled in a deep breath and I knew she was holding it in. "I'm going to bring him home, okay. Don't worry we'll both be back before first dark tomorrow."

"Yeah," she huffed. "I'll wait at your place. Be careful."

"Always am," I replied.

"Love you," she said.

"Love you more," my retort had the desired effect. I swear I could almost see the smile on her face as we said good bye.

It took me less than an hour to arrive in New Orleans. I was marching into the Queens estate and I was in no mood for bullshit. Thankfully I was speared the usual procedure. André was waiting to receive me. Wordlessly I followed him past the usual receiving area and into the private living quarters. We stopped at a door that was password protected and most likely alarmed. I was sure it was supposed to make me feel good, like they were taking great care of my maker. What I wanted to know was what the fuck happened in the first place to require such provisions.

Inside Godric sat prone on an overstuffed chaise lounge. He reeked of some chemical I couldn't identify. His shirt was destroyed and was strewn nearby. His slacks were tattered, singed in some places, blood and ash stained them also. His eyed moved to the side to register my presence but his fangs were buried in the neck of a human male. There were several other humans lined up for him.

I was immediately at his side, "Hello, my love"

His eyes followed me but I could see the strain on his brow as he fed. His body's demand for blood was too great. He was trying really hard not to drain his donors. I kneeled at his side and ran my fingers through his hair to calm the worst of his blood lust.

While my maker fed I took inventory of his injuries. It began at his side and I saw a pattern. The upper portion of his body had been burned, extensively. The worse of it had been healed but I could see the unnatural raw pinkish hue to his skin. It continued up both arms, up and around his neck and down his back and across his chest. His hair was cropped shorter now and that was probably what kept the fire from his face.

I pulled in breath I didn't need and held it for the count of ten. It was something Sookie did and apparently a habit I had picked up. The thought of my maker and lover burning made me angry in a way that wasn't safe for any one. I was willing to bet he had been burned to nothing but bone in some parts of his body. Now that I knew how badly he was wounded, I didn't think he would be able to fly tonight even if we chose to. No matter how much blood he ingested he needed a full days rest.

"I'll be right back," I murmured as Godric swapped one donor for another. He held my hand. He was too hungry to argue with what he knew I would do but he was lucid enough to try and stop me. I kissed his lips lightly and pulled myself free.

She must have known I would ask to see her. Outside the room Sophie-Anne waited with André at her side. She was dressed as normal as I'd ever seen her. Her coppery red hair was in a ponytail and she was in a blue sweater dress. I must have dragged her out of bed then.

"I deserve more from you," I said glaring at her. "You will provide it or I will sever my ties with you and with this state."

She didn't as much as flinch from the venom in my tone. "That seems a bit drastic," she mused.

"Drastic!" I hissed, incredulously. "Drastic, a century, I have given you a century of loyal service, I have gone above and beyond for your honor. I have bled for your glory and the one thing, the only thing that I ever asked you refused." Now that I thought about it, I realized I never gotten over that not too distant slight. "All so he could meet his end on your watch, and for what?"

"Viking, you know your Queen, yes?" she said leaning against the opposite wall. "Had I wanted him beyond the veil he would be. This, what happened was out of my control and I regret it. I understand your frustrations and I understand your devotion but this was not my doing and it did not happen on 'my watch' as you have eloquently stated. He was headed home. Instead of the escorts to the airport that were scheduled, he flew as he always did."

Flying was Godric's mode of transport. It was known by anyone who knew of him. All that was needed by an assailant was the time and place in order to coordinate an attack. I ground my teeth to the point of pain but said nothing. While Sophie-Anne was convenient I didn't think she was behind it.

"Whoever attacked him, knew when and where," André chimed in. I felt like they had been having this discussion before I arrived. "He was in no man's land when they stuck, it slowed response time."

New Orleans was such a bustling city that had patrols assigned according population. It kept both species in line. Godric must have been several miles from the capital for him to be open to any violence. No one in the Queen's area visiting or domestic would dare fight in the open, let alone attack an honored guest of hers.

André continued telling me what he knew so far, "They were vampire most definitely, they knew to attack right beyond our borders. They also knew better than engaging the Visigoth in hand to hand. They launched Molotov cocktails simultaneously from the roof tops as far as we could gather. The method was crude…but effective."

"I have nothing to gain in his end," Sophie-Anne said in a softer voice. "You know this. I value your service, Eric too much in fact. Attacking Godric would cost me both you and the telepath."

I bowed slightly and returned into the room to be with Godric with my thoughts in a snarl. Someone was looking to use the Queen as a scapegoat maybe even weaken her by having me walk out on her. This was a bad time. Peter Threadgill after, flagrantly attempting to end her was now filing a suit against her. Breach of contract, property destruction, and inciting unrest were just some of charges.

Peter insists that he had nothing to do with the attempt on her life. He attests that a plot by his own closest people to overthrow him had been the objective and we simply got caught in the crosshairs. He was still trying to hold Sophie-Anne to their engagement. He would benefit if I walked away. It didn't seem likely. He had nerve but this seemed like too much risk for such little turnabout. The only thing that made sense was that there had to be a loose end Godric hadn't tied up along the way.

Sookie picked Godric and me up at the airport in Shreveport the next night. Relief was rolling off her and she was in tears. She held Godric in a hug so constricted that if he needed air she would have suffocated him.

"I'm alright, beloved." He murmured running his fingers through her hair. "It was nothing, really." He never lied to us but in this instance, knowing how anxious our lover had been I said nothing.

She held him tighter. "You don't go back," From her there was so much fear and anxiety. Having her cry tears of joy was one thing. To feel her uncertainty and fear was a whole other matter. Anything that was required to have her feeling happy again, we would do.

"I won't go back if you do not wish." Godric said wiping her tears away. "Don't cry over something so little, please my love, don't cry." I knew it pained him to witness her sadness and he wasn't the only one.

* * *

www. bozined blue- british- shorthair-cats. html

**The link for Sookie's cat, so freaking adorable.**


	29. Shouldn't leave home

**Chapter twenty-Nine**

Godric did not return to New Orleans after the attack. He continued his work from my area. It didn't mean more quality time for us. Things were tense but that was still the place where I found solace. It was also the place I got to spend the least time. It couldn't be helped because their safety came first.

I was dangerously close to spreading myself thin and nowhere closer to finding my makers enemy. Godric having to work from area one meant I was experiencing an influx of unknown vampires, which in turn forced me to increase patrols and assign a guard for Sookie, on nights when she wasn't with us.

No one that had as much as looked at Godric the wrong way over two thousand years had lived to tell of it. He was absolutely certain that there was no one he had missed. While we searched for a lead we were all awaiting another attack but none came. It was both reassuring and disconcerting. I didn't understand it.

Why attack him while he was in the Queen's back yard but not here? By any estimation I should be a weaker point. It helped me believe that it was meant to cause a rift between my Queen and her most powerful sheriff. February turned to March and March turned to April. Nothing happened and I slowly talked myself into a false sense of security. April led into May and then in June the summit in Rhodes came.

Godric had been scheduled to attend but without a lead neither Sookie nor I wanted him in such an open place. In the end the separation would make all three of us more vulnerable. Also many of those who had lost a child or master or any relative since the great reveal would be there to plead their case to him. Sookie, Godric, Thalia, Pam and I were the only ones from my area I was taking with me to the summit. Everyone else was being left behind to compensate for me taking my best fighters.

Our bags had been checked and we were taking the long walk to the private hangers to await the Queen's jet at a private airport in Monroe. "Only someone with a gruesome death wish would fight you." Pam said to Godric, from her place beside me. "If I wanted you beyond the veil, I'd hide it, so you wouldn't consider me a threat," my child continued. "I could bid my time, learn my enemy, even befriend him if possible, I'd gather my forces, and plan."

Having nothing else to do these brainstorming sessions were becoming very common. The only persistent idea was that someone was trying to weaken Sophie-Anne through me but that angle had its obvious shortcomings. It was confusing. Godric had never been less of threat than he was now.

"That could be anyone," I muttered.

"It's personal,"

"Then he should have _some _idea," Sookie said. She was the first one to shake off the shock of the fact that Thalia had just spoken. Sookie sent Godric an encouraging smile.

"And I do not," Godric said. Thalia shrugged because that was all she was going to say. Pam and I shared a confused look but let the subject go.

One second we on the tarmac headed into the hanger. The next we were fighting off an ambush that came quite literally out of nowhere. That was distressing in and of itself. Godric was a master vampire. His senses were superior and when Sookie was around we were both fanatical about her safety. For him to miss it was not an accident. The fact that Pam, Thalia, myself and Sookie missed it made no sense.

The crackle of gun fire rented the air and it was a testament to his power, Godric moved faster than the bullet. He knocked Sookie to the ground before any of the other vampires could react. Using his body as a shield he was able to get her to the minimal cover in the area. The rest of us scattered just as the smoke bombs were thrown.

I knew Godric was hit. I felt his pain. Sookie was scared but trying to focus. All I could smell smoke and it was also blinding me. We couldn't fight and we couldn't run. The vampires could wait out the smoke but she couldn't we had to move. For them to have dared to attack this close to a commercial airport they must have had their bases covered. Just as suddenly as the siege began it ended. They retreated and I soon saw why, the Queens jet was landing.

The vampires aboard didn't wait for the plane to stop. The first voice I heard was Cleo, "Eric, Pam?"

"Here," I rose and made my way over to Godric. He'd been shot several times, the worse of which was through his spine. His head was in Sookie's lap. She looked distraught, his blood was on her skirt but otherwise she was fine.

"What happened?" Cleo asked.

We all looked varying degrees of awful and the smoke was yet to wash away in the wind but it didn't change my response, "Nothing," It wasn't like there was anything any of them could do now. Whoever had come for Godric was now long gone.

Maxwell Lee had been left in charge and Clancy was his second. That was the first call I made after getting on board. I wanted to know of any unusual activities they've had since dark. So far, they had nothing to report. I wanted to be angry but I had just as much to work with and it wasn't from a lack of trying.

Sookie offered to feed Godric a few minutes after takeoff, "No," was his instantaneous reply. He was on his third bottle of blood but he was still pale and in need of more.

"For me," she pleaded.

"I will take too much," he said.

"I won't let you okay, promise" she murmured. "Drink, baby please."

Sookie kissed him. He succumbed and his body went pliant as it always did when we begged something of him. I couldn't see all that transpired but I felt it. The needs and hungers of Godric's body gave way to what his mate desired. His thirst fell to the background. All that remained was his desire to please her. There was that and the never failing hunger for the completion that only she could offer. I sat in the seat in front of theirs feeling every nuance of pleasure as if I was with them.

Their kisses had been a prelude to ease him into feeding from her but it quickly spiraled and turned into something more. His groans slowly morphed into growls of utter need. Sookie was only too eager to oblige him. She gave her body and it was only I that felt how far blood was from this act. I felt Godric's physical pain give way to pleasure just from her touch alone.

My body was unmoving but I felt every nuance of pleasure as if I was kissing Sookie with my lips and caressing Godric with my hands. I knew what position they were in. Sookie was astride him, her skirt was hiked up, her blouse undone, her bra pulled down. His lips were searching and tasting every inch of her skin that he could find. Their fingers were interlaced and braced behind her back. When they joined, when his body buried into hers I experienced that slight shiver that only her sheath could bring. It was true that every other vampire heard the coupling but I was the only one that felt it.

Our bond was fully opened and the pathways were flowing and overfilling with lust, love and the need to reassure. Sookie wanted to reassure herself that Godric was safe and well in her arms, Godric wanted to make her believe that truth. His body was relentless in its demands for hers. It was like being a conduit, every delightful caress passed between them and flooded through me and then back again. Each time the feeling was greater ushering us to that sweet pinnacle.

"Godric," Sookie moaned. Pleasure was consuming her, them, us. The bond we shared ignited a blinding crescendo of love. It wasn't until then that Godric bit. No matter how much blood he needed he wouldn't hurt her, not feeling the depths of what we shared, he couldn't.

It was the best plane ride of my entire existence. By the time we descended at the airport in Chicago, Godric was healed and all three of us were sated to the point of exhaustion. The remaining vampires on the flight however couldn't wait to disembark. They needed to feed and fuck after that prelude to the mile high club. For that I couldn't blame them.

There were so many things happening at this summit. Luckily I didn't have to pay heed to it all. In between watching Peter I focused on Sookie and Godric. I saw that with several monarchs from different territories present my maker had his hands full. He was listening to claims, ferreting out liars, consoling hurt, explaining events and writing checks. Sookie was close to me, moving with the Queens entourage and sticking close to the Queens Defense attorney. Every now and then our eyes met and she smiled. It helped me count down to the second when I could be with her and Godric again.

Rhodes was supposed to be a four day event. The first day was the bazaar. Pam made a killing from transcribing old songs from any format into discs. Bill debuted his computer software that data based vampires. The next night didn't go so well for Sophie-Anne. We were all there that night as her fiancé tried to end her. Our testimony was in admissible. In any case it would have been detrimental to her cause. None of us actually witnessed him raise a hand to her. Once the fighting began he had been nowhere to be seen.

So even though it sounded like the most outlandish of tales it was plausible that Jade Flower had tried to usurp the throne by killing Peter's beloved bride to be. Sophie-Anne had accepted his betrothal gifts. She had signed the preliminary documents accepting his proposal for marriage. The Queen's lawyer was good but physical evidence was on Threadgill's side. She had to marry him or pay what he desire in order for him to settle. The pythoness ruled in his favor.

André was in a homicidal mood as we escorted the Sophie-Anne back to her room. This was usually the time of night I looked forward to. It meant that Sookie and I could break from the group and return to Godric.

We were set to exit the room when Sookie turned to the Queen. "I'm sorry you didn't win. It wasn't right." She said.

She smiled. "No worries. Everything will be alright in the end. This is not right and so it cannot be the end."

"Forgive me for saying so but isn't it better just to pay him and not have to marry him, you know, so he can't try to kill you again." My lover continued.

"Yes," André growled from his place beside his maker.

"The price is too high," Sophie-Anne inserted. She looked at me and then in an imperceptible movement inclined her head to Sookie. It explained André's mood. He wanted to pay the price and she didn't.

My tone was controlled although I felt rage broiling in the back of my skull. "Lover," I called. "Would you please excuse us a moment?" She nodded and left without question though I knew she had many. I waited till the count of ten before speaking to André "She is bonded to me and my maker, both." I chose my words carefully and spoke calmly. "She is ours. There is no law above blood. You know this."

"I know it. I have to respect it but I don't like it." He replied. I really didn't like him.

"It is done. I have signed the wedding documents." The Queen said. "Tomorrow when Russell weds Bertrand I will wed Peter and then I will end him. The end." Fair enough.

Sookie was waiting with Seigebert just outside the doors of the room. Together we made our way to the room where Godric was waiting. He kissed me and pulled Sookie into a hug. It wasn't until then that I realized I hadn't let go of her hand or said a word since we left the Queen's room.

"What's wrong sweetheart?" she asked. "Tell us,"

"The price to free Sophie-Anne of Peter is you,"

Sookie took it better than Godric. I supposed she was used to vampires trying to enslave her. Godric skipped anger and fell right into a homicidal mind frame. His eyes were blazing blue. He slipped right us and headed for the door. "I'll be back in ten minutes."

"Sophie-Anne isn't going for it." Sookie called after him.

"Then I will end Peter only," he replied calmly, smoothly shrugging his suit jacket back on. "So I'll be back in three minutes."

I arched a brow at that. I knew he had been on his way to kill someone—quite a few—someones I just hadn't known he had placed the Queen on that list. I found that while that bothered me I had calculated doing the same thing. It was just that simply now. Anyone that threatened Sookie was as good as dead.

"Baby, no" she moved and placed her back to the door.

"And why not," he asked conversationally "He threatens the woman I love."

Sookie opened her mouth but was drawing a blank so she looked at me for help. I shrugged. "I want him finally dead," she frowned at me which made me smile.

Seduction was an art I was well versed in. I called on it now. It would help ease his worries and channel the energy that had his muscles coiled to spring. Walking over to them I stood beside Sookie. "I do want him beyond the veil." I unbuttoned my shirt as I spoke. The color of Godric's eyes was shifting signaling the change in his intent. He watched us with unconcealed hunger. I dropped my tone, making my voice huskier. "Not by your hands," I reached for Sookie and she came willingly. "Not tonight,"

Sookie peeled off my shirt and planted errant kisses across my chest. She had lips from heaven. I couldn't mitigate their effects every time they touched me. Then she freed me of my slacks and stroked my hardened length, drawing a hiss from me. I threw my head back knowing I was close to losing my train of thought entirely. Slowly I unzipped the dress my lover was in. With every inch of her flesh he saw, the heat in Godric's eyes flared. The dress fell into a pool at her feet showing her in nothing but a flimsy piece of lace.

Godric groaned as if he was in pain. "We can find better uses for your hands," Sookie whispered. She had her back to my chest, the soft globes of her ass pressed against the hardness of my cock. Her legs were parted and I wound my arms around her holding her closer still. Her body was always willing and always ready for us. My fingers caressed her most feminine flesh giving her, parting her lips, teasing her and making her ache as much I did. It didn't last long. Having none of her was hell. Having a little of her only made me want for more, for all of her.

"Yes," Godric managed to force out. "Much better uses," and then he joined us.

At the joint reception of both royal newlyweds the next night my lovers were able to have some down time in the otherwise hectic evening. They found their way into each other's arms and headed for the dance floor, though I had no idea why. What they were doing couldn't be described as dancing. Godric simply held Sookie and they were swaying and stealing lazy kisses at intervals or laughing at some funny thing or another. I smiled unable to help myself. It was difficult to put into words just how much I loved seeing them together even though I could do was watch. It helped me ignore the fact that Peter Threadgill was within my arms reach.

I was still throwing Peter death glares when I felt the emotional shift. Sookie tensed in Godric's arms. Her eyes were following something behind the far left wall of the ball room. Godric had his arms wrapped around her with her back to his chest. His eyes were scanning the area but she was sensing something that no one else could.

A communication took place between Sookie and Barry the bell boy. Whatever it was that was making her uneasy she wanted a second opinion. The man stopped where he stood by Farrell's side. He too began scanning unseen things. I could almost see the conversation on the telepath's faces as they continued to search. Then Barry shook his head as if confused.

Sookie turned and placed a kiss on Godric's cheek then she moved to Barry's side. I could see my maker hadn't wanted to let her go. He did so all the same, no questions, no explanations. He trusted her to know what to do; he trusted her to call him if she was in need. The telepaths held hands, their eyes were closed and their brows furrowed in concentration.

I knew the minute they found what they were looking for. In chorus their eyes snapped open like shades that had been drawn too tight and they were wearing a similar emotion. It was one of absolute horror. Godric and I were beside Sookie immediately.

"Burn them," The telepaths said in an unnerving resonating tandem. It was as if the mind they were in had trapped them and they were feeling every nuance of that person's hatred. They were lost in animosity that wasn't their own. "Send them to the fires of hell. Then the Lord's work will be done."

"Sookie," I called, taking her face in my hands.

Tears had begun streaming down her pretty face and she seemed to have lost her ability to blink. She was trembling slightly. Beside me Farrell was having similar trouble with Barry. The boy opened his mouth but nothing came out save a strangled noise as if he couldn't breathe. Unlike Sookie he couldn't seem to pry his eyes open.

"Lover," this time I slapped her softly to snap her out of it. "It's okay. Come back to us, we need you to come back." I pulled her into my arms and even through my suit I could feel her nails dig into me as if to keep her anchored to who she was.

"Bomb," Sookie rasped, "They're going to blow up the hotel at dawn with all of us still in it."

Never in history, had there ever been a quieter and neater mass exodus during an emergency. André was a lip reader. At the word 'bomb' he was already by the exit of the ballroom with the Queen tucked safely at his side. Farrell sent an unseen signal and Texas was next to part, then Mississippi, then Arkansas, followed by Indiana and Tennessee.

"Pam, Thalia with Godric and Sookie. Go home. If you cannot find a flight drive until you find safe lodgings beyond the state for the day. Just don't stop moving."

"No," Sookie said rubbing her arms as if she was cold. "We stay together. All of us or none of us."

"I need to track down the sheriffs that aren't here and we need to travel with the Queen's guard." I said.

"Then we go with you," she replied.

I gave her a look that brooked no argument. "I need you to do as I say," I told her firmly.

Godric shot me a look that said I should know better. Sookie never did as I said and I should really have known it by now. True to form she ran for the closest fire alarm and pulled it.

"He's got a gun!" She yelled pointing and gesturing profusely at me.

That was all the remaining humans needed to hear. The band stopped playing. The music was replaced with the sounds of chaos, people screaming for security and others were shouting for their friends. Of course that caused more trouble that there needed to be. Humans trampled over one another to reach the exits. No one would be allowed to remain the hotel now.

"Seriously?" I asked Sookie. "Label me a gun man. That was the best solution."

We were in a stolen SUV with the grand pyramid hotel falling farther into the distance. I had been able to touch base with André and was driving to regroup with our numbers at a train station not too far off.

Sookie shrugged unrepentant. "I wanted us all to stay together seeing that some psychos were going to blow up the hotel we were in. Plus, I wanted to get everyone out not just vampires. I didn't want to argue with you over any of it. "

"Woman, you're lucky I love you." I muttered. Chicago was now another place I would most likely be banned from. It went nicely with my banishment from Texas and the California's (don't even ask).

"Love you more," she murmured, running her hand ever so softly down the back of my neck. The touch was feather light but I felt the profound truth of her words.

Pam had checked in with the other sheriffs, everyone was fine and heading to the same location. We could leave Chicago as a unit. It would make everyone safer. The drive to the rendezvous point was made in comfortable silence. Surprisingly Thalia looked less…like herself. By that I meant she wasn't scowling. She looked relaxed as she watched the night pass us by.

"We have a tail," Sookie said. "And they mean business."

I was quiet trying to figure out what to do. "Weapons check," I asked. I knew neither Godric nor Sookie had any. I only had two daggers.

"Two daggers," Pam said.

"Same" Thalia said.

That might be enough but it depended on how many we were fighting. As if he read my mind Godric asked, "How many?"

"At least thirteen, no more than fifteen," Sookie replied closing her eyes. "All vampire,"

"Lover,"

"Yes baby," By the too bright tone of her voice I knew she was anxious and trying to mask it. "If I asked you to let us out and keep driving until dawn what would you say,"

She snorted. "I'd tell you to try and make me."

Godric chuckled. Pam grinned and I smiled. It was worth a try "I thought so,"

To bring a fight to the Queen was not a good look. These odds might be favorable. It would be a perfect ambush depending on who was already at the extraction point. Calling to check was out of the question. If I brought a fight to them the phone call would tell them I did so deliberately. I looked in the rear view mirror where Godric held Sookie tighter against his side, to offer her comfort. It's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. I was bringing a fight to the Queen. I hoped like hell that she was ready.

* * *

**Sorry that the past two chapters were long but I just had no good cut off places! We are coming to the very end and I'm getting the bittersweet feeling again! Sigh.**


	30. Hurt

**Chapter XXX**

"Pam, you're with Sookie," I said as our destination approached with our foes still in tow. "Get in the air."

"I can run decoy," she argued. "I can fight."

If she wasn't my beloved child and Sookie wasn't the woman I loved more than anything else, I would have assigned her that very task, such as it was I gave her an edict. "Stay in the air Pam and out of battle." Since I wasn't sure what was coming it was the best strategy to keep them safe.

"We'll run a perimeter," Godric said, accepting a dagger from Pam.

"Thalia feel free to unleash hell," she smiled and it was seriously unnerving.

"Call André," Sookie gasped. "There's an ambush coming his way and it's our party. Werewolves, a dozen" her head tilted to the side, "No two, they're closing in fast."

I cursed violently. I think at this point I could make the conclusion that this trip to Chicago, from beginning to end sucked silver stakes and used sunlight for a chaser.

Pam had the phone to her ear before it began to ring she locked eyes with me, "Release me,"

"You are free to ignore my previous edict," I conceded.

"Ambush," Pam said once the lines connected. "Wolves. Two…" her words were cut off and we heard the noise of a beginning brawl.

I could see the station in the distance and smell the blood just beyond it. "We're leaving this car on the count of two." I said.

Godric wrapped his arms around Sookie's middle. I opened my door and ghosted into the air from the fast moving vehicle. The other occupants did the same. The car rolled on its course and then crashed into the guardrail on the side of the highway. The cars following it first swerved to follow then sped up when they realized it was empty.

Godric was in front of me with Sookie on his back. I covered her back and Pam and Thalia flanked me as we moved through the air. We landed but didn't join the battle we had walked in on. We knew another was on it's way. We might have shaken our pursuers but they were vampire and would simply follow the trail of blood. Luck was my friend tonight though. All the other sheriffs and their hands were present.

"Stay behind us," Godric said once he set Sookie down. At either direction of her were Pam, Thalia, Godric and I. It should be enough to keep even her safe. She nodded with wide eyes and a stubborn set to her jaw.

This kind of mayhem was not something I had witnessed in so long. For the first time I didn't thrill in it as I would have centuries ago. I had much too much to lose. Immediately south our location the rest of my state were fighting off the second wave of wolves. Some were in their human forms others were on four legs and fighting hard. While the werewolves seemed to have the numbers ours were holding steady.

The vampires that had been following in our wake arrived. I looked at faces and tried to find one I recognized and I did. Peter. For a moment they hesitated at the scene and then they attacked. Between Pam, Thalia, Godric and I there was over four thousand years of power and fighting experience. Peter and his people were going to get their asses kicked.

"André," Sookie called. "Can I borrow a gun?"

He wasn't using it. The fighting was too densely packed where he was. He made no response because his hands were full but I saw the weapon as it flew through the air. It landed just to the left of Godric. We were thinning the herd. One of the remaining enemy vampires flittered to behind him with a blade in hand. He'd dropped to retrieve the gun for Sookie. He couldn't see the blade poised for his heart. I couldn't deflect the blow I wasn't fast enough. There was only enough time to take the hit and I did.

Instead of wounding Godric eternally, the silver dagger pierced me through the lower back, breaking bone. There was something about the curse of silver that meant the wound wouldn't close; it also meant it burned like hell as I continued to bleed out. Godric spun and snarled. It was a noise that sent fear down my spine though I knew he would never harm me. He abandoned formation and went on an all-out rampage. It was not something I have ever seen and I prayed to the forces that be that I would never bear witness to it again.

As my body crumbled to the ground I heard Sookie scream. With all the hell that had come undone, with all the fights I have been through with her at my side, I have never heard her scream. The noise was one of pure terror. It was one of someone that had been thrust into their darkest fears and all the untold torments of hell the devil had to offer all in one foul swoop.

Her face was over mine and tears were streaking down her face. "Oh my God, Eric!" she cried "Eric!"

"Silver," I panted. "Okay, watch your…"

My words were lost to her as a wolf took hold of her from behind. One of his hands had her by her hair the other had her by the throat. I could see he was half way into his transformation. "You're dead bitch," it growled.

"Not today," she said. She didn't flail wildly like most women would have. She allowed her body to go limp. "Walk away," she implored. Her voice now took on an alluring air. The wolf behind her seemed to calm slightly. The features of the animal form began to fade. It was as if she was trying to entice him to leave her in peace by not fighting. I knew it was an attempt to spare him. In her hands were the daggers I had dropped. "You don't want to fight me, trust me, you really don't." Momentarily, it looked as if she had been effective. The wolf looked momentarily confused. A howl blared in the distance and he attempted to drag her away. It was the last thing he ever did.

When my lover had fought four grown werewolves in hand to hand combat I had been amazed. A part of me had attributed some of that to luck as well as skill. Truly, I hadn't really been able to visualize what an unstoppable force she could be because then she had been unarmed. This time was different. She had two hawk style daggers in her little fists. I was willing to bet in her life she had been around someone that knew how to use them. I wasn't wrong.

Sookie, my lover was the embodiment of death in all her glorious fury. She was swift; precise; uncompromising; unrelenting in her attack. Both my blades were in hands and she moved with the elegance that any vampire would envy. Pam was her only back up because Thalia was with Godric.

Sookie compensated for the deficit but comprised nothing. Her form was smooth; razor sharp even through thick sheets of rain that had now begun to fall. Every rise and fall of her arm resulted in the immediate incapacitation or death of an enemy. It was beautiful, deadly and nothing like the woman that had given me comfort, pleasure and passion. She never once ventured past the point that would leave me vulnerable to harm.

Sookie stood unmoving when it was over. In her sure grip the blades of the dagger dripped with blood, there was so much of it left none of the blue visible in her dress, it dripped and mixed with the rain and fell from her face, blended in her hair and stained her hands. When no one else came for me, when none of her enemies were left she dropped the knives and fell to her knees with her head bowed as if they weighed down her very soul. Deep down I knew it did. Such a dove looked so out of place fighting in a dark place littered with corpses.

My lover, was a pacifist and this, what she had done was nothing short of a massacre. I hated it, I hated that her hand had been forced but most of all I hated that she was in pain over something that wasn't her fault. I was in no position to offer her comfort. Pam bit into her wrist and brought the wound to my mouth but I coughed her blood back up.

The silver had spread very far. The back of my throat was burning. She rolled me onto my side and slit my throat. The pain of it didn't register, my whole body was burning. The last thing I saw before my strength gave out was Godric going over to Sookie. He reached for her but she shrank back and turned her head away. I wanted to know why she wouldn't let him comfort her but darkness could no longer be denied.

* * *

When I woke Godric's face was over mine, his wrist was pressed to my lips and his blood was flowing into my body washing away all the effects of silver in my blood. I no longer felt sick but I felt drained and I was willing to bet that was the case. When the blood of a vampire was poisoned to the extent that mine had been, it was best to drain the tainted the blood and then apply the blood of my blood.

I drank from Godric but there was something in his calm that made me wary. Then the last thing I remember reentered my mind. I didn't voice it; my eyes were searching frantically for Sookie. I felt disjointed from her, like she was there but not really a part of me. That scared me more than anything else.

"She wants to be alone," Godric murmured, absently brushing my hair from my face.

"Alone, where?" I asked. Now that I thought about it I had no idea where I was. The last time my eyes had been open I had been in Chicago. I looked around and found that I was home in my day chamber. "How long have…"

"Three days," Godric said.

"How long has she been gone?" I murmured.

"Since Chicago," he was trying to sound casual but I knew what he was feeling.

We were both having the same internally struggle, fighting to keep from seeking her out and comfort her through the bond. She wanted to be alone and we had to let her at least for now. I knew her; I knew that she would rather walk away from a fight, run from a threat than kill. She abhorred the taking of life even the lives of people that threatened her. It was different where Godric or I were concerned. There was nothing she wouldn't do and in Chicago she had to kill because of us.

"She looked so…broken," he whispered. He wrapped his arms around himself with his head downcast. "At the safe house she washed her hands until they were raw and she did not speak, not a word." I knew this was something he had been torturing himself with while I had been incapacitated. He looked at me and bloody tears rimmed his eyes. His expression was anguish filled. "What if…"

"Don't," I growled. "You know better." The feeling that she was shutting herself away hung heavy in us both. That place where her warmth usually emanated from was locked away. I fought against it. She was coming back. "If all other truths of the world should fail this one will always remain, she loves us. She is coming back. There is no one she loves more than you and I."

He smiled and it was somewhere between something genuine and something nervous "Casey," he said "She loves Casey."

I rolled my eyes. "As if I need any more reason to kill that fur ball,"

To fill the time my maker brought me up to speed on all I had missed. "Peter is finally dead. His new wife is now regent of two states. We think that you are right, that Peter was trying to incite unrest in this state by targeting me and having you blame Sophie-Anne."

That _was_ plausible but something about it seemed too convenient now that I thought about it. The vampires following us explained Peter's involvement but not the two natured unless they had been together. I doubted they were. It was the timing of it that made me believe so. I couldn't confirm it. Due to the wide scale of the battle no prisoners had been taken.

"Charles handled clean up and provided a safe house and escorts out of his state,"

"The price,"

"Sophie-Anne paid half a million, Sookie also agreed to screen his closest human employees at a discount and we are all banned from his state for the next century."

I bit back a sigh. I just didn't have the strength to begin doing anything about it tonight or even process it. Godric stayed by my side. Intentionally we avoided the master bedroom where Sookie's scent was heaviest. I tried to tell myself that I wasn't listening intently to the sounds of the night, that I wasn't straining my ears in hopes of hearing her ancient car. I wasn't waiting for the phone to ring. Of course I was. Dawn came and I was still waiting. She hadn't returned or called. That night I held Godric and the pain of not knowing how our lover was faring was so much that for once I eagerly awaited the dawn.

Long before my mind was cognizant my body was well aware. I could feel it in every fiber of my being. Sookie was here. I felt the distinctive energy she gave off cracking over my skin. It was an inexplicable surge of all things primal, of decadent pleasures, the most unspoken but profound understanding, of bone deep love, of blistering passion, and unbridled magnetism. It was all there. She was here.

The last of sun's rays receded. The first emotion I registered was the sense of wholeness that had been the norm for so long. I opened my eyes and Godric was there between us Sookie lay, fast asleep. Neither he nor I could keep from touching her. I twirled stands of her hair in my fingers and he had his hand wrapped around her. For a while we simple laid all our fears and uncertainties to rest with her presence.

Hungrily I drank in her features. Her lids were hued in fading shades of lavender as if she'd been sleep deprived. Even tired she was so very beautiful. There were markers of the last battle she had fought; healing scratches on her legs and her knuckle were slightly bruised.

"She is sad," Godric murmured "So very sad and tired,"

"We could go away," I said to him.

That wasn't a prospect I had ever considered but seeing her like this, having her look so tired and be so torn made the choice for me. I'd worked hard to rise up in ranks amongst this monarch but it wasn't worth her happiness. Nothing was. We could leave all of this behind tonight and I would be happy. All I needed was her, it was all Godric and I needed. "Her love for us wouldn't force her to do things that make her hurt."

"It's not that," Sookie said. Her heart beat hadn't changed even though she was now awake. In fact, had she not spoken I would have thought she was asleep. "It's me. I'm losing myself. Things, horrible things I thought I would never do, I've done. That line I drew in the sand in the very beginning of all this, is moving closer and closer to shore. And I'm scared. I'm terrified that it'll get washed away with the next tide. Then there'll be nothing left of the person I hoped to be."

The scent of her tears was in the air. It ate at me. I wasn't aching with her because I felt her pain. I ached _for_ her. Knowing the woman she was I could imagine how much pain and uncertainty plagued her. She knew she didn't have a choice in what happened but guilt like many emotions, could seldom be reasoned with.

"Soon," she pulled a deep breath but couldn't suppress a sob. Godric crushed her to his chest as if he could smother her grief. He didn't try to hush her because she needed to get this out. "There'll be nothing in me worth loving or saving. I won't deserve it because I'll be a monster."

I hissed at absurdity of such a thing but simply couldn't find the words to tell her how wrong she. I wrapped my body around hers. She was safely cocooned in the embrace of her lovers as she fell apart.

"No, beloved no," Godric whispered in a horrified voice. "That will never be your path, ever. We won't let you get lost and if you do we will help you find your way again." With every word he spoke she allowed more of her emotions to show, it was a relief to have her let us in even if it was ugly. "You told me that everyone wants love, it's when you don't deserve that you need it. Come what may, you will forever have our love. Not because of what you do but because of what you inspire in me, in us."

I nodded my ascent and kissed her head. "Yeah, what he said,"

Sookie laughed and while the tears on her face hadn't yet dried, I felt the worse of her fears had been acquiesced. We stayed in bed for a while. Sex wasn't a part of it. It was just the closeness that we all craved.

"I need to go," I said. I had been out of the loop for much too long. That was never a good thing. I also had a lot of work to do.

"Can I tag along?" Sookie asked.

I arched a brow at that. The only person that avoided my bar as much as Godric, was Sookie. Then again she might just want to be close to me which was understandable. I still teased her, "Are you actually asking me for permission to do something?" I gasped audibly.

She chuckled and threw a pillow at me. "We're tagging along."

The explanation I received about events just wasn't sitting right. I had been mulling it over in the back of my mind all evening while I worked. It wasn't until I was heading home that something clicked. The wolves that attacked Sookie at her home months ago were looking to kidnap her. They had been presumably sent by Peter. If Peter was responsible for it all, why wouldn't he have utilized wolves again in Chicago? During that hellish brawl the vampires had hesitated. I had assumed it was because they were facing the Viking and the Visigoth head on but they seemed to want to get _through_ us not at us. Why? Because they were on the opposite side of their target.

The vampires target was Sophie-Anne. It made no sense that wolves had come after Godric. You do not engage the Visigoth head on. No one would send wolves after him, a tactical sneak attack like with the gunmen at the airport and the firebombs in New Orleans was the only way to take him out. But a full on assault was suicide.

So, why were the wolves there if they weren't with Peter? It couldn't just be exceptional bad luck. No one was _that _unlucky. The logical conclusion was that they had another ojective. Sookie was the only other person of value at that station. They had been after her. They had to be. I'm willing to bet the wolves had simply followed the Queen thinking she was with them much like Peter followed us knowing we would lead him to the Queen.

I had some questions and I knew the mutt that would have answers. Many werewolves had met their end in Chicago. He would know something. I had no reason to think the son of the pack master was being deceitful, but the only information he had to offer led me northeast, towards Mississippi.


	31. Liar

**A WORD OF WARNING THIS CHAPTER ENDS ON A CLIFFIE. SO BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW THE NEXT TIME I WILL UPDATE I AM GIVING OUT THE WARNING! SO...YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. SEE, I USED THE WORD 'WARNING' THREE TIMES, IT MEANS I MEAN BUSINESS.**

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-One **

By July Godric had resumed his working trips to New Orleans. While I had no concrete reason to think he was still in danger, I still insisted he traveled with the escorts that came with his contract to the Queen. Sookie had also begun her training sessions with Barry. An addendum was made to her contract with Stan. He provided body guards for the telepaths during their sessions. Sam the shifter saw her to the airport here and the guards watched over her even though she never left the airport in Dallas. By the time she returned it was dark and myself or my other vampires were up.

It was mid-August. The days were painfully long and the nights short. Sookie left at the crack of dawn this morning, she should have returned to Louisiana by now. She'd left no messages which made me worry. I was even more concerned after I called her and got no answer. I went to her house in search of her. She might have finished early and went home and just lost track of time. It'd happened before. I could also feel she was fine, not hurt or under any duress, tired maybe but unharmed.

I was in her house trying to beat back worry when I heard a car making it's way up the drive. I opened the door knowing Sookie was exiting a taxi. I never realized how tense I was, how half alive I felt when I was without the people I loved. I made no accommodation to the speed I used to reach her. There were no bags to help her with but I just couldn't wait to be close to her.

"Hi baby," she greeted.

"Hello lover," I smiled, picked her and sped us into the house.

"I missed you," she murmured leaning into me. It was certainly clear in the bond. She was lust filled and dying to get out of her clothes. It only fueled the want I always carried for either of my lovers.

"Missed you more," I murmured and then I claimed her lips with mine.

At some point I was going to have to mature past ripping off her clothes but it wasn't tonight. Her body was calling out to me and I knew was I was close to losing it. There was a sharper, almost desperate edge to the way she wanted me, like she was starved for my touch despite the explosive sendoff we had given Godric just three days ago. I fed off her hunger. In this space I knew she could handle all that I could give and I wanted her badly. Her jeans and panties were in tatters and her top was a forgotten memory. I didn't register it, not really, it was all her.

"Want you so bad," she moaned. I had her under me in the walk way of the house. It was as far as we could get. I had no control in me to make it to a softer surface.

"Need you," I replied.

"Make love to me," she replied biting into my shoulder without drawing blood. It was still enough to send a tremble down my spine.

"Absolutely," I purred. I turned her over on her stomach and before she could register the change I was sheathing myself in her dripping wet warmth. The sound of her sharp cry, the feel of her body, the feel of her stretching to take me, it all drove me to give her more.

Her body made its demands of me and I obliged, willingly, enthusiastically and fervently. Her pleasure became my own. It wasn't because I felt it through our bond. It was because I saw it in her eyes, felt it in her every touch and it only burned hotter with every twist turn of her body. No matter how many times she finished me off I was right back begging and aching to give her more of me. She gave in until she was sore and couldn't handle anymore. It was amusing that I drew the line long before she became conscious of it.

"I was worried about you," I whispered, wrapping my body around hers. She was hot and sweating so the cooler temperature of my body was welcomed.

She kissed my chest. "Sorry, forgot my phone." she mumbled resting her head back on my chest again. "Then my flight was late," she yawned.

"Sleep" I murmured nuzzling her neck.

I could feel all the weariness that she was trying to hide. I held her tighter and stroked her hair as she nodded off almost immediately. The contract with Stan was negotiable. I would insist that Barry begin traveling to Sookie if he wanted to continue the training sessions. She was doing too much. I worried that it was beginning to wear on her.

For a few minutes I just held her and watched her as she fell into a deeper sleep. There was a smile on my face for absolutely no reason. I had to admit it was strange and maybe a little unhealthy to derive happiness from such a little thing but it was just the way I felt. When she was asleep she looked so at peace, utterly out of reach of all that plagued her while she was awake. I kissed her lids wishing her to dream of only pretty things.

I hated that I had to go to Fangtasia and leave Sookie all alone but it couldn't be helped. She wouldn't miss me though. She'd felt so tired I was sure she would sleep through the night despite how early it was.

Sookie was usually a light sleeper but she didn't stir when I moved her into bed. When she was tucked in I began the cleanup in living room. I gathered her destroyed clothes and found a portion of a receipt. It was the top half of a whole that had been discarded. I bunched it up with what was left of her denim and walked to the trash but that little piece of paper floated from its perch and drifted onto the floor, facing upward. It was how I read the words that sent my happy little bubble into the debts of hell and back again.

I didn't recognize the name of the vendor. I did know the airport and it wasn't in Texas. It was three states west, in Nevada. McCarran International was written in bold 'CAPS' and I looked down waiting for it to disappear. It had to be a mistake. There was only one McCarran International that I knew of and it was in Las Vegas. I crumpled the little portion of a receipt in my hand and tossed it into the trash. That wasn't possible. Sookie had been to Dallas today, to train Barry. This was a mistake, it had to be. I simply refused any and all possibilities that it could be anything else.

The thing about denial was that if you were sane enough, it wore off. No matter how hard you wanted to cling to it. Your mind knew it wasn't real. It chipped away at that wall, bit by bit and then doubt crept in so reality could follow. I was in Fangtasia going through the motions trying to bury my uncertainty. It was working but then I heard the conversation of two humans. Truly, I wouldn't have paid the paltry conversation any heed had I not been so perturbed and looking to escape my own mind.

"Your color looks great," One human female said to another. "The vamps'll love it."

"I didn't even have to go tanning," the other woman bragged "The sun did all for me. I did have to get naked though." They shared a laugh.

I'd just been too driven to read into it hours ago but it had been there. Sookie had smelled of rain. She wasn't wet but the smell of an impending storm clung to her. It was like incense. It made the scent of her hang heavier in the air. It was so earlier tonight. I'd buried my face in her hair only to have the scent wretch my desire up several octaves.

It hadn't rained in any part of my area today as the two women had said. That didn't mean anything. It could have rained in Dallas I reasoned. I pulled out my phone and searched and it hadn't. I was watching the weather icons flash little depictions of sun shine with bright skies. More of my denial crumbled, even if it had rained in Dallas, she never left the airport. It was a hard limit of her contract while she trained Barry on Stan's turf. She would have never been exposed to the elements.

Doubt was clawing its way free and I had nothing else to drown it with. Sookie had gone to Dallas but she had also gone to Vegas. The possible reasoning behind it was too painful to contemplate. I couldn't. It didn't change the facts. She had gone. She might not have. I had no idea where that voice of optimism had come from but it soon died as I checked the weather for Las Vegas. The city of Sin had gotten rained on all day; in fact it was still raining there now. There was nothing left to help me push away the suspicions I felt. The receipt I'd discarded flashed through my mind. Sookie had lied to me. She had lied.

"Pam," I called moving away from the main bar area. "I'm leaving."

I didn't wait for a response. I just had to leave. It didn't occur to me that I was headed back to Sookie's home until I found myself hovering over her house. Talking to her wasn't going to happen at the moment. She was sound asleep. I would never wake her. What would I say to her anyway? I wasn't even sure what I was accusing the woman I loved of doing.

I descended and faced the house. The little farm house had never looked sinister before but now it did. I watched it with all its lights dimmed and the slow steady thrumming heart beat from within. Had I come across it and not known who owned it I would have written it off as nothing. That assumption helped me gain a clearer head.

The house like the woman was deceptive. I eyed it and tried to see what I was missing but nothing came to mind. I had shared my body and blood with the woman that owned it. I could navigate through it blind. I knew every creak of the floor boards. All that I knew didn't help me deflect the truth that there was so much I didn't. I was missing something.

"Look past all that you know and love," I whispered through gritted teeth. "Look, Eric look."

I looked to the woods where bodies of weres were buried. I looked to the east where Compton lived. I searched the night and finally I saw a place I wasn't familiar with: the shed. I had never in the year and a half that I had known Sookie set foot in that place.

As I approached the miniscule structure I finally felt it. That feeling of foreboding had risen and it was here in full. I stood in front of the doors trying to decide what to do. The thought of forcing my way into the shed felt like the greatest depravity. I stared and stared and then something popped out. The lock was new, heavy duty and used a combination instead of a key.

Breaking the lock would be symbolic of breaking the bond I'd formed and the trust I had been given. It would betray not just Sookie but Godric too. I hesitated. It was at that time that the image of the receipt I'd so quickly discarded fell into my mind. I had to see, I had to know. If I didn't I would forever doubt her. I would lose the peace I had known in a life time of war. I wouldn't be the only to feel that sting of doubt. I had to know, for all our sake.

Upon entering the shed I found it unremarkable. Sookie's motorcycle was parked in the farthest corner and covered. Gardening tools and other kinds of home maintenance machinery lined on the walls. What was I expecting? A house of horrors, a map of lies and duplicity, maybe, I got none of that. I was getting paranoid in my old age. Obviously there had to be another explanation. I pulled in deep breath. It had been a habit I'd picked up from Sookie it gave me a moment to pause and think.

That was how I caught something in the air that was wrong, a foul acidic stench. Once that registered I was looking around the shed with new eyes. I noticed that it was too clean. I noticed that there was very little dust and debris. Most of all it was the fact that, Sookie's scent registered heaviest to the left wall. I moved there and it didn't take me long to dislodge a trick panel.

Pulling the panel aside, I looked down into that little box under the shed and saw nothing but secrets and lies. I don't know how long I sat there just staring at a thick bundle of cash, a hand full of cellphones, several passports, and a dozen licenses all with different names, state and country of origin but with my lovers face. That would have been enough, truly but it wasn't the beginning. The panel hid an underground crawlspace. Sookie might have been able to stand in it but when I descended below I had to crouch.

The wall ahead of me held so many guns, nothing like the shotgun she kept in the house. These were machine guns like André carried ranging in size, they were new and some were sniper rifles, others were hand guns. The foul smell that had registered to my senses from above was so heavy down here that it made my skin crawl in warning. I moved towards it instead of away. They were specialized bullets I found. Gun powder was mixed with, shards of silver and wooden splinters they were crafted into a normal looking bullet. It was utterly unique and completely lethal to a vampire or werewolf. Already I was trying to explain it all away.

Sookie was a target after all. That was all this was about. That was all the guns and fake identities were. She was protecting herself. She was afraid. That last remnant, that tiny cloak that had kept my heart from breaking fell away when I turned to the side. There was something that resembled a photo shop. It was basic and coarse but I knew what it was. The only reason I recognized the vile chemicals was because of the photo shoot Fangtasia had of its vampires. The pictures that had been hung to dry tore my whole world asunder.

The picture that was hanging was one of Sophie-Anne meeting with her lawyer. I moved forward even though everything in me wanted to run. I drew closer and found more pictures. They were all of my Queen meeting with various people. Some were of her as she retired for the night. Those had addresses on the back to indicate the location of the safe house. Other pictures were of documents and various contracts pertaining to the Queens affairs. A choked groan escaped and I shook my head to dispel what I saw. I closed my eyes and counted to ten but nothing changed when I opened them again.

I bore agonizing witness to what it was like to be a fool. I had expected to feel unmitigated rage but there was nothing in me but agony. My heart was breaking, my world was falling apart. It hurt so badly and cut so deeply that not even silver on my flesh could burn and mutilate like this. To this, silver was nothing. I would bare the rays of the sun and even then I didn't think that would compare.

There was no pain like betrayal I learned. Never could I have imagined it was possible to be damaged like this and survive. There was no loss more harrowing than this. I saw and felt the macabre truth of what is was like to love, to be truly and utterly devoted, to blindly trust and to have it all mean nothing, be nothing to the recipient to whom you gave everything. Bloody tears fell and it was only then that the anger came. It came, it consumed me and I embraced it. For it was the only that would keep me sane.

I knew I would kill her. It was for my maker that I would not do so slowly. He would not suffer anymore at the hands of this bitch and neither would I. We both loved her and she used us. We had meant nothing to her. I entered the house and it should have surprised me to see Sookie at the kitchen table but it didn't. My emotions in all their ferocity must have woken her.

I refused to let her continue to enjoy the damage she had done. I refused to let Godric feel it but the force of holding in so much hurt was threatening to break me. It burned and left nothing in its wake, not a single thing. I'd never before felt so hollow. That void wouldn't fill with her death but I would still do the deed. For it needed to be done. She did not deserve to live for deceiving Godric. I could pardon her anything else in this world but not that.

"Why?" I snarled slamming her little tin box of treachery onto the floor. It bounced and skidded but neither of us paid it any heed. "Tell me, why?" I repeated.

My voice was not as steady as I wanted it. It cracked because that wasn't the question I wanted to ask. I didn't care about the why. I wanted to know if I ever meant anything to her. I wanted to know if Godric did. Had she cared about us even a little? Or was it all just an act? Had we been nothing but pawns? That was what I wanted to know but the words wouldn't come. Not because I was too angry to voice it but because I was too afraid of what the truth might be.

To her credit though, Sookie did not act ignorant. The truths of her many crimes were plainly written on my betrayed expression. "I had to," was all she said in her defense.

In her tone there was no beseeching or argument. She was resigned. I looked into her eyes and knew that she knew she would die by my hands. Still she did nothing. That blind acceptance sent me into a rage the likes of which I had not experienced in centuries. I flew before her. I sent the kitchen table that she had been seated at sailing into the wall.

Sookie made no moves to flee. She made no moves to fight. She hadn't risen from her seat. It would have been futile but it would have showed that she at least wouldn't rob me of my justice. "You never cared, did you?" I asked glaring down at her. The anger fell to the background and there was just a gaping wound that just wouldn't stop bleeding or hurting. "About me, about Godric about any of it." Damn her, she'd pretended to want to reach Thalia. She was Pam's only friend for crying out loud.

"No baby, I love you." she said softly. "I love you both, more than…"

"You're lying!" I roared. With every word she spoke I felt myself falling back under her thrall. "All you have ever done is lie!"

I wrapped my hand around her neck and lifted her from her seat. The part of me that loved her recoiled from what I was about to do. I bound and gagged that weakness. The slight delicate form in front of me was nothing but my end waiting to happen. Her hands went instinctively to my wrists but she didn't scratch. Her legs didn't kick. She didn't try to fight. I squeezed her neck tighter. I felt as the bones creaked and the muscles protested under the pressure of my hand.

"I trusted you," I hissed. "I loved you," I couldn't keep my tears unshed and it was then that I saw something like guilt play across her face but I was too far gone to care. "You abused it, and you abused me and Godric."

I spoke those words so I could will myself to see nothing else. It worked and I clamped down tighter and cut off her supply of oxygen.

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**Pretty Bad Cliffie, I know but at this point I don't think the schedule is feasible so I will just do it by chunks. **


	32. The Beginning

**Hi guys! ****I want to get you all in on my cause, I want to hit 500 reviews by the end of this Fic! So all readers and welcomed to join the cause! (no purchase necessary :-D**

**I was able to come back much sooner than I thought all due to my super awesome Beta Rebecca . t . p . wrecker. If you've been sitting on pins and needles then thank her! You're probably not reading this because you're eager to see what's below (LOL) Enjoy!**

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**Chapter Thirty-Two**

I looked into Sookie's eyes and she stared right back. When her lids closed tears, warm tears trickled over my fingers. It was then that I was undone. The finality of what I was going to do descended like the weight of the world. Those eyes that were losing their life, were the same lightening blue stare that had brimmed with so much love, adoration, devotion, joy and passion when we made love, when either Godric or I had made her laugh or when we had simply walked into the room.

I couldn't. I loved her. She was a liar, a spy, and an assassin. I couldn't kill her even knowing what she would cost me, knowing what she was. I just couldn't. She had used me and Godric both. She'd hurt and betrayed us, but I loved her still. No matter how much I wanted to hate her, no matter how little I meant to her, I couldn't make myself love her any less now than I did at first dark today.

I placed her back into the seat and nicked the vein in my neck and offered it to her. She tried to fight and not drink but she was too weak. She was wheezing and coughing and gasping for breath. I sat her astride me and wrapped my arms around her, keeping her head to my neck and rubbing her back. I reopened the wound and was able to get her to drink from me then. The man I was, the dominant creature with pride that wanted to appear strong, refused to let her see me shed another tear.

I tried. Only the heavens knew just how hard I tried. It wasn't enough though. Her lips latched onto the puncture I made and I broke. Her scent, one that was synonymous with her love, the warmth of her body, and the feel of it, there were so many happy memories, so many passionate moments tied to this act, they all flashed through my mind when her lips touched my skin. It all made the pain worse. She drank and I buried my face in her hair and wept like a lost child. I was no child, but I was a person experiencing hell. I cried and so did she.

"I'm sorry," Sookie kept repeating as sob after sob racked her body.

Seeing her cry and hurt was never something I could handle, and this time was no different. I held onto her tightly. I rocked her in my arms as she cried and continued to apologize. I should never believe another word she said. How could I? The sad part was that I did believe her. It only certified that I was a fool, her fool. Yet there had been instances where I had felt remorse coming from her. There were so many things that I could never explain that made sense now.

For a long time there was silence. Just the rhythm of Sookie's breathing regulating. The slight whine that had accompanied each breath faded as my blood healed her. Her crying had turned into whimpers. I couldn't offer her a word of comfort. I was drowning in a river of pain so vast I felt I would never resurface even if I lived till the end of time. I was losing more than half of what I cherished in one blow. It truly felt like there was no sense in living now. It felt like I couldn't face tomorrow but I had to.

Godric would need me and I would need him. We had to try to pick up what little was left of our limitless existence once Sookie was gone. I wasn't sure if one would be enough to save the other. There was no sane world where we were without her and wanted to continue on. Yet, she never belonged to us. That was irrelevant at this point. It didn't matter that every kiss, every touch and semblance of love we shared with her had been a lie. We were in too deep. It was real to me and it was real to Godric. It was what we now lived for.

"You have to go," I began. I held her closer still. "You will run and I fear that you will be doing so the remainder of your days." My voice broke because that was never a life I wanted for her.

Our life, the one I thought we had, wasn't what I would have wanted ideally. I wanted her to be happy and safe and warm and never having to fight. Lately I had been thinking of leaving just to make it so, just to make her safe. Since realizing I loved her, I never wanted anything more than to love her and have her love me.

"No," was her stubborn reply.

Her tone was so familiar in its petulance that I would have smiled on any other day. Tonight it made me want to cry. I was still rocking her as I spoke. The movement was a reflex and an unconscious thing that was meant to soothe her. "Lover, I need you to understand that combined neither Godric nor I can save you from this, not from so many enemies and not from yourself."

"I'll die first," she replied reasonably. "I don't want to live without you, either of you."

I wanted to shake her. She couldn't see. She couldn't understand that nothing mattered but keeping her alive. None of what I found out changed that. I needed her to be okay. She had to be. I never got a chance to argue my point.

Godric appeared in the kitchen. It was a testament to how shattered our bond was, how deeply my pain had polluted it. Neither Sookie nor I felt him enter but there he stood, frozen. He remained by the doorway and looked from my tear stained face to Sookie. I don't think he could have approached if he had the will. He looked like a vampire that had a stake at his back and the sun at his front. There was no place for him to go. Idly, I wondered if that had been my face when I found out the woman I loved was nothing but a lying charlatan.

"What has happened?" he asked.

Already I was hoping against all hopes that this would not rob Godric of his desire to continue living. Deep down I knew it would. I was under no illusions. Once she drove the stake just a little deeper into his heart with the raw truth, he would not want to live. It shamed me to admit, even to myself, that I could not blame him.

Our bond had been renewed in a newer and deeper way. It would leave us with nothing but a cavernous hole where there had once been so much joy. The tighter ties we had formed in loving the same woman would not be enough to preserve him; it would damn him as it damned me.

Godric's gaze left mine and he looked down at Sookie, who had turned in my lap. I wish there was something I could do to make him hurt less. His eyes were beseeching and I could no longer look at him. "Look at me," he said in a soft and controlled tone. "Beloved," he called to us both.

I couldn't face him. I wasn't the only one Sookie had her head bowed in shame. I looked at the floor wishing it would open up and swallow me and save me. It didn't. It was like being trapped in a bad dream. I closed my eyes and hoped that maybe that was what this was. But when I opened them again the scene hadn't changed, the pain hadn't lessened. The madness hadn't stopped.

"Please, will neither of you gaze upon me?" There was no trace of anger as he continued to implore. His control broke and his voice cracked. He was begging and that made my chest clench and my fists ball. He was falling apart right in front of me there was nothing I could do. Not one single fucking thing.

In that last question I heard and felt all his fears. It shot through our heightened bond and speared into me. It reared anger and all my protective and possessive instincts. I could hear Sookie's breathing hitch and break like she was going to cry. With a quivering bottom lip and tears running down her face she did as he asked. We both looked at him then.

I had not known why Godric had insisted that we look him in the eyes as she ripped our hearts with the admission of her many crimes. But when we did all his pain and feelings of dread receded entirely. He came forward and knelt before her where she sat in my lap.

He held her face in his hands as he continued speaking. "Whatever it is, whatever has happened," he said stroking her cheek and gazing lovingly into her eyes. "I care not. Just this, just the both of you, that is all that matters."

"You can go with our forgiveness," I said to Sookie. "Go," I tried to set her from my lap.

Godric was pushing her back into my embrace with a confused expression. "Go where, Eric?" he asked. "Why?"

It was Sookie who spoke, "I hid a lot of things. I lied a lot about many others and I killed a lot but I had to…I know you don't believe me but I swear it was never to hurt you. I would die before I hurt either of you. I…please," her face crumbled and her fear flooded us both. Not even when I'd confronted her had she been afraid. "Please..."

"It is forgiven, my love." Godric said wiping her tears. "All of it, whatever it is, it is forgiven. You do not have to go."

"Godric be reasonable." I said. He didn't even know the half of it. The picture he had painted couldn't exist. We couldn't come back from this and it wasn't because I didn't want to. It simply wasn't feasible, no matter how much I wished it was.

"What else are we to do?" He asked reasonably.

"You don't understand," I groaned.

He opened both palms out to me in an open gesture of capitulation. It told me that whatever the price was he would pay it. "Love saves, Eric. It heals and it forgives. I love her and you, more than the moon and all the stars after the longest of days," He said softly. "I have forgiven her as have you and she is sorry. Nothing else matters." He reached up and wiped my tears. "The issue in my eyes, it is done."

I shook my head because I was beyond words. She had betrayed our trust, abused our love. I had forgiven her but it didn't change the consequences of her actions that weren't under our control. He had no idea of the shit storm that hadn't even begun to drizzle yet. We needed her to go so we could begin damage control. It was the only way to save her.

"We can't stay with her;" I began "She was never meant for us. She never belonged to us." The words felt like poison but I forced them out because they were true.

"You don't believe that," he replied calmly but I felt the conviction. "You want to. You think you must but you do not and neither do I. It is not possible."

"We cannot abide this." I urged. His eyes held mine and I had to tell him. It was a truth that I wished that I didn't know. "We can't." It was so pathetic that that wasn't what made me afraid or sad. "If we do, we will have to witness her end." His face fell and I felt all the negative emotions rise like tides of the fiercest gales. I pushed through it. He had to know. "She will die, my love, if we try to ignore this, because we cannot fight it. We have to let her go. It is the only way to keep her safe."

"I'd rather die." Sookie said with a shrug.

"And we cannot let you." Godric said falling to sit on his haunches. His head was bowed in grief and he looked as lost as I felt. "I told you, I will endure anything but that. That is my line in the sand."

Sookie shook her head as if exasperated and exhausted "You don't get it," she said whispering as if defeated. "It wasn't like that. None if this happened the way it was supposed to," she exhaled a deep breath. "None of it."

"I know," I said stroking her hair. If there was anyone with a plan from the beginning it was me and this sure as hell wasn't it.

"You might know some of what I did but you don't know why," Sookie said looking at me.

I had my mouth open to give a retort but I didn't. There was evidence to point to her as a catalyst in many past plots that involved very dangerous people. I'd found evidence of murder after murder and selling secrets that was just ti name a few. It made no sense. Sookie had no money to show for it. I don't think in all my lives that I've ever met or will ever meet anyone who cared so little about wealth. We had discussed her coming over. That couldn't be why she was working with Felipe. All she had to do was ask it of Godric and me when she was ready. Nothing I could fathom explained treachery of such magnitude.

"You can still hate me." Sookie said in a desperate voice. "And believe me, sweetheart, believe me when I say I hate myself."

"I don't hate you," Godric and I said at the same time.

"We couldn't," he continued. "You are our bonded mate and we love and honor you always."

"I don't deserve it," she whispered and shame and guilt rolled off her.

"Everyone wants love," I said "It's when you don't deserve it that you need it most."

Her bottom lip trembled and tears fell but she scrubbed them away. I knew she didn't believe me. She thought that somehow in her quarter century of life she had committed too many sins and was too far gone, she didn't think she deserved to be loved the way her mates loved her. I couldn't make sense of it. I kissed her head and set her down into Godric's waiting embrace. He wound his arms around her as she began her very long and very sordid tale.

"I ran away from home after my grandmother died. I figured anywhere was better than living under the same roof as my pedophile uncle." She was looking at the fridge but her eyes appeared a million miles away. "I got as far as Jackson before I ran out of money. So I took a job bussing tables in a little bar, 'Josephine's'. I didn't know what vampires were then. I just thought they were people I couldn't read so I liked when they came around. It was where I met Russell. He was one of the regulars. He and his friends tipped well and never gave me a hard time. One night a man was trying to rob him; I stepped in not knowing he didn't need it. For my troubles he offered me a place in his house. He was clear about what he was and that I'd have to be food, a bed warmer or a useful hand. I went with the last option even though it meant I had to pay to remain under his protection. I didn't mind. I worked hard, stayed out of trouble. The vampires there liked me, I understood their puns, listened to their stories when they felt like talking, and I always minded my manners. I still knew better than to tell anyone what I was."

She drew in a ragged breath. "The first person I killed was Desmond Sachs." She looked up at us. "Do either of you remember your firsts?"

"The Roman captain who sold me into slavery," Godric answered.

I shook my head. "I only remember the last," Godric nodded his assent.

She too nodded to agree also. "Desmond had skin the color of warm honey, deep green eyes, jet black hair and a smile that lit the room. I don't know why I remember him when I know he wasn't worth shit, I don't know why I remember him when I don't remember the countless dozens that followed."

Sookie was looking down at her hands as if she didn't recognize them, as if she could see blood on them and as if she could never get the stains off. Godric reached for her hand and brought it to his face briefly and then he kissed her palms. It helped calm her, pull her from her past into the present.

"He was one of Russell's wolves. At the time of the incident I was eighteen. I'd been with Russell four years but when the packmaster asked for my head he offered me up just like that," she snapped her fingers.

That was a pretty accurate description of how quickly a vampire would sacrifice the life of a human for personal gain. "Without as much as a blink of an eye and knowing what the weres would've done to me, knowing that Desmond tried to rape me. He said I violated the laws of his house, that I should have endured and then reported it after." She shook her head in disgust. "No matter how much I begged and cried for him to help, he just cast me off."

By the glint in Sookie's eyes I knew she must have believed Russell would have defended her. I knew as much by the way she stated her length of time in his employ. She knew of vampires long before we came out of the coffin. By the time she came to me she was seasoned and prepared. It also answered all the questions of why she never ran or fainted or reacted like a normal human. It had always boggled my mind how she knew not only not to extend an ounce of trust to a vampire but to mind her manners. She was bold enough not to be taken for easy prey but subtle enough to avoid being a threat.

There was nothing like pain to make the brain a little smarter and my lover had learned a hard lesson that day. Russell probably kept her because she had indeed stayed out of trouble. She was bright and probably completed his day tasks exceptionally well. He had also been taking her money for the economics of it. It did not surprise me that he didn't fight for a human he was not feeding or bedding. No vampire would. She was a child and was easy prey that had through an act of self-defense made herself a liability.

"I convinced the packmaster that Desmond was a monster, which they knew he was. I'd also saved over the years. I offered what I had and the Alpha pardoned my blood offense. Russell had given them my life and I'd bought it back. I was free."

The memory of it was plain on her face the exhilaration, the hope, the fear of being all alone all over again.

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**Okay so for all you who have been curious about Sookie's past, that is the first chapter of it.**


	33. The Equalizer

**Thanks to my avid readers and reviewers! Thanks again to my Beta.  
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**Next Chapter **

"I went to Tennessee right after. It was where I met Quinn."

"The tiger?" Godric asked.

She nodded. "He was a mess. He'd just had a fight in the pits and barely came out alive."

Quinn the tiger had been a cage fighter for most of his adolescent years. His mother had been assaulted and the trauma had driven her clear out of her mind. Her son had to care for her and the daughter that came of her rape. No matter how devoted he was, a mentally unwell full grown weretiger was a liability. She escaped and killed. A vampire stepped in. In return for cleaning up the mess, Quinn had to fight in the pits for their entertainment. All the while his mother kept causing more messes. Then out of the blue it all stopped. His debt was paid and his mother never had another incident.

"We enlisted in the Navy together after I healed his mom."

"Wait," I interjected "What do you mean you healed the tiger's mother? How?"

"I not just a telepath," she replied looking at me, "I'm an empath. Remember when I said touch makes people's thoughts that much louder?"

I nodded, "Yes, but you can touch some people." I said.

"In those instances it was with purpose, to control their emotions. Like at the club the guy I danced with wasn't at all into women but I changed it because he was the strongest and most sober person there and I needed an escort out who wouldn't push for more later."

"It doesn't work with werewolves?" I asked thinking about Chicago and the fight that took place there.

She shook her head. "Not really, if one of them is resolved on attacking me there isn't much I can do."

"But you try," Godric added. He like me could hear that she could change that if she wanted to.

She nodded. Then after a deep breath she continued, "Between being able to read minds and sense and control emotions I developed a kind of glamour. It's a lot deeper than yours from what I gather. I healed the trauma of Quinn's mom's rape, Terry's combat memories, and a few others along the way."

It would have been so much easier to accuse her of manipulating my emotions but I knew that wasn't the case. Nothing she could do applied to the undead. Then I had a thought that explained something that was nagging at me. From what I was able to find out Sookie traveled all over the country during the day to meet with different contacts. Frankly I had no idea how she was able to keep up with two spouses, hold a job, fight for her life quite frequently and still have time for all her scheming and conniving. Now I didn't think she worked for the shifter at all. It would be the perfect way to cover her back and provide an alibi.

"You don't really work at the bar do you?" I asked.

"I come in when Sam needs a hand and I show my face enough for people to think I work there."

"How long were you a soldier?" Godric inquired genuinely curious.

"Four years. It was where I met Sam. He was Quinn and my squad leader. Our team specialized in recon." She didn't have to tell me how good she was at that. "The higher ups were sending us on suicide missions and we were coming home before dinner without a scratch to show for it. It was drawing attention. We were either going to get found out or get dead, neither appealed. Sam was facing his tenth year and was tired. Quinn missed his mom and sister. The military was a place for me to hide and learn to be stronger. I was done hiding. When our time was up we went our separate ways. Sam came here because I always used to tell him stories about it. Quinn started E(E)E and I blew with the wind for a bit deciding where to settle. When I heard my uncle died I came back here." She stopped to give a bitter laugh. "Once I got here though I couldn't stay out of trouble. It began with a pack war Sam got mixed up in over some broad. That was how word got to Russell that I was a telepath. He was furious. He said I cheated him but I didn't owe him anything, not a single thing. I knew he would come after me so I placed myself in your path." Her eyes came to me. "I knew Sophie-Anne would claim me as an asset so Russell couldn't touch me."

Not without risking open war with Sophie-Anne and she would have beaten him like a rented mule. Sookie was brilliant for going that route. All this time I had thought my discovery of her was an act of providence. It had just been just part of her plan to save herself from a fate she detested. It now made sense why she tolerated all that she had: my advances, my disrespect, and my disregard. It had simply been necessary. Her standing in the in both the supernatural and human community now made sense, it would make it hard for the Queen to force her to court, the one place that I knew she did not want to be. I never understood that aversion until now.

"That was the only reason I crossed your path, I swear Eric. It was why I fought so hard against everything I felt for you."

Her eyes were begging me to see, begging me to believe her. I looked away and I felt how much pain it caused her. I regretted it. It wasn't because I didn't think she was telling the truth. It was because I did, so easily. It had me afraid that I was seeing what I wanted to all over again.

Sookie continued through the lump in her throat. "Russell offered me the world to willingly come back to him. I told him to suck silver and use sunlight for a chaser. He couldn't tempt me, he couldn't scare me. My family was all dead. There was nothing for him to threaten me with, nothing until…"

"Me," Godric whispered in a hollow voice and the same time I muttered a vile curse.

Someone wanting my maker finally dead made no sense to me. No one should have been targeting him. He was not a threat. He was old but he desired nothing, not territory or power, just Sookie. The mystery had confounded me. It shouldn't have. The answer had just been too obvious to see. He was being marked for his end because of the woman he loved.

"That night, on the way back from Arkansas when you got shot, it was my fault," she said as if the mere thought made her sick. "The wolves were sent by Russell. He had been hoping to capitalize on the chaos in Arkansas to get me back to him."

"After I was healed I was going to ride off and disappear. I loved you, Eric even then, I loved you. I couldn't deal with having you hurt because of me. Then the both of you showed up at the right time…I just…I just couldn't. I was selfish but I've never wanted anything or anyone the way I did you two."

It seemed so obvious now. I remembered the way she'd held me to her that night. I had just assumed she had been looking for someone to offer comfort while she was hurt. But she had said, 'Bye' instead of goodnight. The expression on her face, the way she kissed and held me it all made sense. The thought never crossed my mind. She was saying goodbye without really saying goodbye.

"I was too weak to leave but I'd made Godric a target for Russell, so I asked Sophie-Anne to force him to New Orleans." She let out a long breath. "She owed me big time and she was willing. You would have been safer in the Queen's back yard."

"And Eric was safe because he was her sheriff," Godric surmised.

She nodded.

"But I hindered that plan," I added.

"You got so angry and Sophie-Anne didn't want to risk you leaving. Three days was all you would give but it wasn't enough. Russell himself called me after the first attempt. He told me he fell short on purpose as a warning. He said if he wanted to take Godric from us he could and that you'd hate me and I'd have exactly what I deserved, nothing."

The anxiety from brushing against your deepest fears was written all over her. She sounded so broken and afraid. It ate at me though I fought the feeling. Her hands went into her hair and she fisted the strands briefly. The urge to reach out didn't even register. I just found I was touching her. Taking hold of her wrists I rubbed the back of her hand with my thumb. Her body relaxed and her grip on her hair loosened.

"I went to Felipe then," she whispered. "He contacted me after Dallas, said I'd need a friend like him before long. His price was territory and me. I could deliver all of it. All he had to do was train his eyes on Russell's kingdom, make him nervous so he couldn't focus all his energy on Godric," she said. Again I found myself commending her decision. She was right. If Felipe was eyeing my state I would double my defenses no matter what my other interests were. "While he did that for me I would give him a way to take territory from Sophie-Anne."

Sookie saw the tight strain in my jaw. I was a sheriff and she had just admitted to betraying my Queen. "I promised Felipe Sophie-Anne's territory. I didn't say which one." Sookie continued.

There was no way she could have been that cunning or Felipe that dumb. Then again vampires underestimated her greatly and that was her greatest advantage. She meant to give Felipe Arkansas, which was as broke as a joke. In his attempts at taking take Sophie-Anne's throne; Threadgill had almost bankrupted his state.

Godric interjected, "So what happened?"

I shared his curiosity as well. If she was a spying on Sophie-Anne she had had the means to come across valuable information especially where Arkansas was concerned. So why had she not yet delivered?

"Victor Madden." It was as if reliving this tale was making her tired. "The attack at the airport should have never happened. I was feeding Felipe intel he could use. Russell was nervous and Godric was safe. The plan was working. Then Victor jumped the gun. He terrified Russell instead of just making him watchful so he hastily married Bertrand. With Indiana and Mississippi combined Felipe could no longer threaten Russell and we all knew it. Rhodes was my only chance to take Russell out and I had planned it perfectly." She concluded looking down at her hands.

I noticed that she did this when she spoke of committing violent deeds. She had proven herself to be a more than efficient assassin but she was still a pacifist at heart. All this death and killing troubled her. Despite the necessity she despised herself every time things came to this junction.

How could I explain to her just how brilliant she was? In her shoes I would have made the same decisions. She had the greatest advantage of being underestimated and disregarded when in truth she outmatched her contenders. There was a saying, "The needs of many outweighed the needs of the few" When you were part of the few, it became a matter of survival.

Survival had its own rules: anything, everything, whatever it takes. She had done that with as little collateral damage as possible. No matter what she was afraid of, she would never be a monster, ever. The proof of it was right here. While she had wanted to end Russell, she hadn't been blinded enough to sacrifice so many innocents by letting the bomb and bomber have their way.

"The bomb cut things short," I said. "And you were right back where you started," I concluded.

"I hated it. On top of Russell, I now had Felipe as an opponent. Of all the spies he had in the Queen's nest none of them could deliver the intel I could. This was his best shot at taking her throne. And he wanted it despite the fact that his lackey dropped the ball. When I took off after Chicago it was to end Victor."

I was looking at her but I couldn't really say I saw her. I was looking at a creature that had assassinated a master vampire like it was nothing. She managed to do so without rousing the suspicions of the lovers in her life or people that would be looking for the culprit. Then I thought back to the way she cried after returning from that act, how broken she had been as we held her. Her words had applied to what I knew. I thought she had simply been referring to the fight in Chicago, the bomb, the fire at the church in Dallas, all of it. She had been referring to those acts and so many others. I had no idea how she carried it all inside, I had no idea how she endured.

"Why did you kill Madden?" Godric asked.

I was curious about that also. Everything she had done up until that point made sense. It had all been carefully planned to precision, calculated to the letter and executed flawlessly. Killing Victor seemed like a rash deed. It had been the desperate act of a person with their back against the wall.

"Felipe gave him a pound of flesh with the Russell detail and in doing so he could no longer control him. Victor had his own plans and he wasn't going to roll with the charted course. Already he was trying to scare me, push me to do something dumb." Okay, that made sense. He had been a loose end and a threat to the master plan and she had eliminated him. "Felipe lost his lieutenant and had to regroup. Russell was scared he would catch heat for it, and was lying low. I had some time to think. I was running out of options and I was getting desperate. So I did the only thing I could. I bargained with a fairy."

Fucking fairies, just when I thought this plot couldn't get any more convoluted. Oddly this was like being a passenger in a car that was on a collision course, I thought. I knew where this was going but there was nothing I could do to stop it. She continued, "Three years ago I came across one named Preston while I was in Ireland. I saved his life and in return he offered me three turns to return the favor or the procurement of items of equal but no greater value. Eric, I knew you didn't kill the Rattrays, because I did. They'd drained Bill and he was flaking to ash when I found him."

Bill Compton was a vampire with nine lives or he was the luckiest son of a bitch I'd ever come across. Her affection for him had long been a pain in my immortal ass and from the lengths she'd gone through it wasn't going to wane. "You used one to save him." I presumed.

"Yeah but he doesn't remember. Far as he knows he killed them and burned down their trailer because they took silver to him," she shrugged "It was kind of true."

"This fairy, you trust him?" Godric asked.

Sookie snorted. "No. Especially because since he saved Bill I've felt someone following me. It was why I started staying over more, hanging out at Fangtasia." Vampires were a natural repellent for fairies. They tasted like all things sweet and irresistible. We tended to glut ourselves and that didn't end well for them. "Anyway, I traded an iron inhibitor in return for his help but he kinda screwed me. His help came in the form of a fairy named Niall."

"Motherfucker," I groaned. "Please don't tell you mean the fairy prince," I begged. There were just too many consequences in that for me to care to consider at the moment. He was a fucking hazard. If there was anything that was a powder keg to all these flames of animosity it was Niall. Her affinity for calamity was uncanny. "How in all the worlds did you attract the fairy prince?"

"He was the one following me. He's my great grandfather on my dad's side," was her reply. "At least that's what he says."

Godric and I looked dumbfounded. There was nothing in her voice to say how she felt about it. Knowing Sookie she was happy, mad and sad all at the same time. Then again if she was descended from Fae it would explain her heightened appeal to all things supernatural.

"He said he came for me when my gran died but I had already taken off. He said he has been searching for me ever since. He wanted to know if there was anything he could do for me."

I thought I knew what she would ask of him. Niall couldn't kill Russell and Felipe without putting a hit out on all fairies. He could speak of his connection to her. That would be enough to make anyone rethink their position. If there was a choice you didn't want to pick a fight with the sky fairy prince. Then again by going that route, he would put a target on her back. He too had no shortage of enemies. One is yours truly. From the second our paths crossed that Fae has been on my shit list.

"I asked him to kill Russell and make sure Felipe took the blame," she said.

That would all but solve all our problems. If he was proved to have killed Russell, Felipe would be stripped of his land, title and all his riches because Bertrand as Russell's spouse would demand it. That was if he was lucky. The worst case scenario, Bertrand would petition the Pythoness for the Cuban's life and he would get it.

"He refused. He told me 'Dead things have their own laws child, and we must not intercede,'" She quoted Niall in a nasally tone. "Instead he offered to spirit me away from the horrors of this place."

"To the Fae realm," Godric asked carefully. I knew in his mind Niall was dead but he was trying to be calm about it until he knew how Sookie felt about him.

"Don't know exactly," she answered with a shrug. "I didn't ask; don't care; wasn't interested. He couldn't do what I wanted so he could get lost, great grandfather or not. But he just wouldn't quit."

"How so?" I asked.

Unlike witches, fairies had several lifetimes to hone their power. They didn't rely on incantations or spells. Their power was inherent. From what I knew Niall was my age. I was having a hard time believing that there was something he wanted of her that he simply couldn't force her to do. His species was varying shades of powerful but he was even more so.

"He wanted me to turn so my beauty would be undying, so I would never die. Which seemed strange because then I would want to drink him to death yet he claimed to only want to know me. All that and I couldn't get a direct answer out of him to save my life. I figured he had his own agenda and I wanted no parts. I asked the other fairy, Preston, what he knew and why he told Niall about me. He said Niall was trying to place me ever beyond the reach of another fairy named Breandan."

Godric's shoulders stiffened at the name. He was looking at Sookie like he wanted to simply steal her away and run to ends of the earth. I was all for that plan. We both knew what this now meant. Breandan was like the less popular, less revered fairy prince. With every passing decade he grew a bit more insane with his fanaticism. He hated humans with fairy blood. He blamed them for the decimation of his species. He'd made it his goal to exterminate them. The instrument he used were a pair of psychopaths named Lochlan and Neave.

"You will stay with us," Godric said and for the first time I knew he wasn't leaving it open for discussion.

"I could," Sookie said. "I want to, now that you know but if this is because of Lochlan and Neave, they're gone."

"You killed Lochlan and Neave?" I asked looking for confirmation.

She nodded. "About two weeks ago they showed up out of thin air during the day and grabbed me. They teleported me to an abandoned house in Arkansas. They were real excited about their plans with me so much so they didn't think to check me for a weapon."

"Which was dumb," I inserted sarcastically.

"Yeah," she concluded as if she couldn't believe it. "The minute I regained consciousness they were dead and I was jogging to the nearest gas station which was five miles away. That was the hardest part of the whole thing. I had no phone, no money and no wallet. It was such a pain."

Godric and I smiled at her grumpy tone. I had to admit that of all her feats this was the most astounding. Those two made even vampires cringe. "Is that all?" I asked her.

Sookie looked at the ridiculous ceramic hen on the counter, the one that carried a clock in it's breast. "Five minutes ago, Felipe and his people moved in on Sophie-Anne and her sheriffs," she whispered.

* * *

**Egads! Another cliffe...Oh come on it's not that bad and I promise I'll be back on the scheduled date. Hey don't forget I'm on a mission for 500 reviews! Join the cause share your thoughts, feelings and show your support! **


	34. The Greatest Contender

**Chapter Thirty-Four**

I pulled out my phone and tried to reach Cleo. She was the sheriff whose territory was closest to mine. Her phone rang and rang and went unanswered. I tried everyone else, Zane, Julius and Andre all to no avail.

"No one will be home," Sookie continued absently. Her eyes blazed with concentration as she watched the clock. She appeared almost hypnotized by the ticking red hand that marked the seconds slipping past as she narrated events that neither of us could fathom. "He will be at the Queen's safe house in the bayou now." He'll find her in bed."

The phone was buzzing with a dial tone in my hand as I watched helplessly. I wanted to do something. I wanted to charge in and fight. But I knew that was useless now. The damage could not be undone. If the choice was between members of my state or her, it wasn't a choice. It was her, always.

"It should be over soon."

The house was silent. Sookie looked at me and I didn't know what expression I wore. I just knew I was sorry for not seeing her as she was. I have seen her as a feisty human with a knack for trouble that had owned my heart. She was so much more than that. I wanted to protect her I now saw that that desire was just strong in her. With this she'd proved that there was no line she wouldn't cross for our sake. It made me pity my enemies.

The ringing of the house phone broke through the hush that had gripped the scene. It rang once then twice until Sookie moved to answer.

"Hello," she said in a thick voice. She was unblinking, her heart beat was slow and steady but there was tension in the set of her shoulders.

"Congratulate me!" the voice was almost mistakable because of the ecstatic ring to it. "I just got married!" my Queen said with a delighted chuckle.

Sookie let out a breath that she had been holding and closed her eyes as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. "You got everything you wanted?"

Sophie-Anne laughed, not a titter but a full out laugh that ended in a breathy sigh. It was by far the most disturbing thing I have heard in all my years. Considering the night I was having that was saying something. "Yes," she enthused. "I own him lock, socks and barrel."

Godric and I shared a confused look. Neither of us knew what to make of this. That was definitely Sophie-Anne but the conversation made no sense. Judging by what Sookie had told us she should be no more. At this point I was sure I was hallucinating. I drank from a human that was fried to the gills. That had to be the answer. The moral of this ghastly hallucination: don't do drugs. That couldn't be Sophie Anne. She was not one who used modern idioms no matter how incorrectly. Here she was on the phone laughing and using crude language with Sookie as if they were the best of friends.

"Is everyone alright?" Sookie asked

"Yes, Felipe's people, they fight like angry milk maids." She mused. "We are quite disappointed. Verily, it is like donning a ball gown and finding I have no place to go."

"Hello pet," André called from the distance. His voice was bright with the thrill of the battle that had passed not too long ago.

"André says, hello." Sophie-Anne relayed.

"Tell him I said, hey. How did the mags and vests we cooked up work?"

Of course he heard her. He moved closer to Sophie-Anne to speak into the phone.

"The vest is genius," he chuckled. "They didn't know what to make of it. But the bullets have too much kick like you anticipated or maybe we should just adjust it for a lower caliber weapon. I'm not sure. Send me your schematics and I'll send you mine,"

Sookie nodded absently but made no other remark. She looked so worn and tired. Obliviously he continued on, "Come to see me at months end. I'll send the jet."

She nodded again, "Yeah, sure. I have to go."

He paused then said, "You are wetting my show."

This time she actually chuckled. It still boggled my mind that she genuinely seemed to like that asshole. In the near century I have been here the most I could drum up for him was thinly veiled distaste. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to rain on your parade, bud. I'm happy for ya'll really. I'm just having uh…guy problems at the moment."

There was another pause as the phone changed hands and the Queen came back on. "You overplayed your hand by telling them without my presence." she said sternly. "They could have killed you." Her tone was cool and commanding like I have come to know it.

"They didn't," Sookie said confidently. "They wouldn't."

Her hand ran reflexively around her neck due to how close I had come. Physically the pain was gone and so was any damage I had done. But her hand lingered around her neck as if to rub away the memory. The action made guilt surge through me. I had done that to her. She sensed it and dropped her hand and shook her head at me to disagree.

"I need to go," she said to the Queen.

"Sheriff, when your maker returns to my area I expect the both of you to accompany him. That is an order." Then she hung up.

There was no way to avoid the conversation though she tried to. Sookie prolonged it for a few seconds. She hung up the phone with deliberate care and then took her time turning around. She turned but she couldn't seem to face me or Godric. I felt the barest glimpse of her, guilt, shame, remorse, fear and heartache. I couldn't read more into it because she was shutting herself off, away from us again.

"You would have resented me if I let your Queen die. Plus I like her," Sookie said. "This was the only way. Felipe's off my back and Sophie-Anne got a rich and powerful husband she can control."

None of that mattered. The image of me willfully and purposefully causing her harm was all I could see. I knew why she didn't try to explain it all to me beforehand. And angry as I was, I wouldn't have believed her, contrarily it would have only fed my anger. I walked to her slowly and waited for her to shrink back of show fear but she didn't. She looked at me like she always did. If anything was different, it was the guilt on her face. It had to be heavy to have escaped the hold she was trying to place on her emotions. When I was close enough to touch her I fell to my knees.

"I raised my hand to you in anger," I said.

The words tasted so foreign I still couldn't believe I had ever committed such an atrocity. Every sordid thing she'd told me, every presumed act of betrayal, had been born of her love for me and Godric. I didn't have enough faith in her. She'd shed blood for me, killed for me, she had taken punishment for me. She had bled for me, but I'd been eager to execute her. Nothing she had done had been for herself, it had been for me; to keep me in my position, to keep me safe. It had been for Godric, to keep him safe. We would have done the same for her and so much more, to protect her so she wouldn't have to suffer or worry or hurt. I wasn't sure if the roles had been reversed if I could have done so while maintaining my place in power. After all that, I had hurt her.

"Don't tell me you're sorry," she said with a shake of her head, "because I don't care." She dropped to her knees and cupped my face. "Just tell me you know I love you, tell me you believe that I would never hurt you."

Heaven above, I believed that more than I believed that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. "I know it. I feel it and I will never again doubt it. You love me," I said reciprocating her touch. "More than the moon and all the stars after the longest of days."

She heaved a sigh of relief and rested her forehead against mine. "And then some."

Later that night the three of us were in bed at my house. Godric had his arm partially thrown over mine. Sookie was in the same position on the other side of me. Her fingers were drawing listless patterns up and down Godric's arms, or tracing his tattoos at intervals. My fingers were running through her hair and his free hand was absently twirling an errant strand of my hair. It was moments like this that I lived for, not the sex that sometimes preceded it.

"I'm curious beloved," Godric said breaking the silence. "How did you tell Sophie-Anne about all of this without her killing you?"

"In Arkansas, when Peter tried to kill her I saved her life. She called and offered me a life in return."

That was as close to absolution as one human could get from a vampire. It was a show of the deepest favor. The Queen had offered to turn Sookie or someone of her choosing. She offered to take a life at her behest or save a life without a turning. Old as I was I had only ever heard of that being done a hand full of times.

"The day you came back," she rubbed Godric's face. "I told her everything because she wouldn't help me otherwise and I needed to make sure you were safe. After you got hurt the first time I asked her for help in taking Russell out but she couldn't risk it. Her hands were full with Threadgill. She knew I would go to someone else, so we chose Felipe. I didn't have to spy on her. She gave me everything I needed to know as long as she got Felipe in the end," she concluded.

"I'm amazed." I said, though I shouldn't be anymore. "How did you get her to trust you with something like this?"

Sookie shrugged. "She knew the only thing I cared about, and understood that as long as she didn't threaten the men I loved, I'd stay on her side," she sighed. "Of course she wasn't so happy when I used the life she gave me to save Felipe."

"Why?" Godric asked.

"I know it seems stupid because I'm letting a potential threat walk, but he never tried to hurt me. And though I was prepared to do it, the thought of ending him never sat right for that same reason."

I wasn't sure she knew it but that explanation didn't surprise either of us. It was her nature. My mind moved to the other antagonists. Only Russell and Breandan were left. Russell was a vampire and so to a certain extent his moves could be anticipated. It wasn't the same for the fairy. I wasn't sure what could be done but I knew he was coming. We had to plan. If there was anything that was known of that water Fae, it was that he wouldn't stop. Fanatics rarely ever paid reason any heed. Then there was Niall and his role in all this. He might not be an enemy but he was no friend. I pushed it all aside for the moment.

"Why are you friends with André?" I asked because I thought I would never understand that one. "And if you tell me there's no good reason behind it, I'll end him."

Godric chuckled. Sookie swatted my arm. "Be nice."

I sighed and nodded. I'd been teasing…mostly.

"After Russell and before Quinn I was in a dark place. I felt like I had to change. I felt like there was something so integrally wrong with me, something so awful, that no one could really love me."

"That is not true," Godric interjected.

Sookie nodded and smiled softly. "I know that now, but then…I acted out. I did things I wasn't proud of. I lived fast. I ripped off people, taking advantage any which way I could. I told myself they'd do it to me. It didn't change the way I felt when I went to bed at night. I knew I was just ruining things I couldn't have and hurting a world I felt hurt me. Quinn gave me a different perspective. He was bleeding and half dead and none of his thoughts were about his injuries, he was thinking about his sister. It made me remember the way my big brother loved me. It was something I'd forgotten about over the years of being alone. It's one of the reasons why Quinn will always be my brother. Seeing those familiar things in people around me helped see more of what I once had, who I'd been and who I wanted to be. André forces me to remember the way I could have turned out. I look at him and see what I would have been like if I'd been in the darkness longer, if I'd been hurt worse."

"What about Bill?" I asked.

Both my lovers rolled their eyes. "Are you ever going to let that go?" Godric asked with a smile. I shook my head. I still didn't like him and they knew it.

"Bill is my boy next door." Sookie said.

"He's your neighbor," Godric observed, looking somewhat confused.

Sookie leaned over and kissed the corner of his lips. He was old and had spent the past hundred years in a fog. There was just something's a year of cable television couldn't fix.

"The boy next door is a term to describe the perfect wholesome man of the current time." I said, shaking my head. "Seriously, you might want to add some romantic comedies to your daily sci-fi infusions."

Sookie chuckled and he bit me gently in swift retaliation. "Mix in some sci-fi to your horror movies." He had me there.

"When I see him, I see that who you are isn't determined by events but the choices you make and the values you stay true to. He made me believe that if you fight hard enough no one can take those things from you, not even death. And if I was a normal woman and he was a human, he would have been the one I would have married and had a boat load of babies with; the perfect southern gentleman," she smiled.

"So you're trying to give me more reason to end him?" I asked. This time they both swatted at my chest.

"Honestly, where did you get him from?" Sookie asked Godric. "I don't think he's a Viking. I would bet he's a Barbarian,"

I chuckled. Getting a rise out of her still amused me. The only difference between now and the day we met, was that it was never at her expense anymore. She tried not to smile but lost. With all the different people that helped her find a way to maintain who she was I wondered aloud what Godric and I were.

She smiled and replied, "Everything,"

* * *

It was pointless to contemplate Niall's motivations because he appeared the next night. Sookie Godric and I were in the parking lot of Fangtasia and he ghosted out from the night as if he had always been. He was in a three piece suit that was as distinguished as it was fitting of his title. Our paths hadn't crossed in centuries. The years showed. It didn't mean that as finely lined as his face was he had grown weaker with time, quite the contrary. Even the cane he was leaning upon wouldn't fool anyone with common sense.

"Hello child," he said inclining his head to the side. He couldn't see Sookie, she was behind the wall Godric and I had formed in front of her. "Come, I will have words with you." He didn't spare us a glance but he did remain where he was. It was slightly farther apart than two groups should be while having a conversation even though his scent was masked.

"You do not command her," I inserted coolly.

Sookie didn't side step Godric and I. She moved and we parted so some of her showed but she was mostly behind us. "Evening," she said. She inclined her head in an identical manner and her drawl ran thick. "These words we're supposed to be having, are they new or more of the same ole same ole?"

Niall pretended to think about it then he shrugged his deceptively hunched shoulders. "Come and see for yourself,"

Godric and I hissed, the noise of which was like a swarm of raging bees.

The fairy showed no signs of being slightest bit unnerved. "How ever do you tolerate them?" he scrunched his nose without ever looking at us.

"Lay off the vampire thing," my lover said firmly. "They're not in the mood and neither am I."

He nodded his head as if he had been thoroughly chastised. "Surely they know as you do that I will never harm you. I couldn't."

"So you've said," she allowed. "What you haven't told me is what you want."

"You are all that is left of my beloved Fintan. I desire nothing but to keep you safe always." He shot me and Godric a pointed look. "Perhaps find you a suitable mate, but that is neither here or there."

We growled and inched forward and Sookie wound her arm around our waists It was both to restrain and to offer reassurance. It helped dull the urge to rip his head off and dance on his pile of dust despite the public setting. Niall smirked ever so softly. In response I flashed fang. This was typical fairy behavior. He was prodding at me to incite me and then feign innocence. It shouldn't get to me but it did. I wanted to hurt him—a lot.

Sookie sighed, "So the same old song then." She moved the hold she had on me and took my hand. She did the same thing with Godric and then began pulling us away.

"Wait," Niall said, sounding more serious and we did. "I came with a warning."

He was late. His warning should have come to her more than two weeks ago. "Lochlan and Neave," I spat. Not being used to having his card pulled the fairy stood straighter and inched closer.

"I have had someone watching them since they entered this world," the fairy said. "Now the shadow knows not where they have gone and I fear they will come for you."

"They did," Sookie replied with a nod.

It must have been an inadvertent thing. The sky Prince tightened the hold on his cane and his eyes narrowed at that bit of news. For the smallest portion of a second he looked horrified and then he masked it or the minor slip could have been for my benefit. It was difficult to tell with them.

"They killed your son,"she continued looking at him with sympathy. "My grandfather?"

"Yes," the Prince said grimly.

She nodded. "They laughed about what they did to him, how they made him suffer," Tears clouded the Prince's eyes, "They were still laughing about it as I put a bullet through Neave's skull and two in Lochlan's heart."

"You have done your family proud," he said dabbing at his tears.

"My family is here." she retorted calmly. Niall couldn't see but as she spoke those words she squeezed our hands.

He changed tactics and moved to trying to inveigle her. "They can't protect you like I can," he insisted. "Come home with me, I will show you a whole new world. You have two great uncles, one of whom is your grandfather's twin, and cousins who will desire to know you. You won't have to be alone."

"A," I began. I found that I was no longer annoyed by him. It was because while Sookie treated him with the same amount of consideration that she did everyone else, nothing less and nothing more. "She can take very good care of herself…"

"And she will never be alone," Godric said.

"Breandan knows of you," he continued in a frustrated tone. "Ask your vampires, they can tell you of his feats. He will not be easy. He will come like rain. He will never stop, not until you are dead. So, what shall you do then?"

"The same thing I always do," Sookie said with a shrug. "Win."

* * *

**The story is done and is going through the editing phase. Since I no longer want to torment my lovely readers with cliffies I'll upload the last three chapters at once. **

**Or if you guys don't mind the torment let me know but either ways, ladies and gentlemen this will be over by Wednesday...I'm sad about that :-(**

**On the upside I'm fairly confident I will reach my mark and I have all of you awesome people to thank!**


	35. Facing Death

**Chapter Thirty Five**

The only thing Niall had done to counteract his feud with Breandan was evade and avoid conflicts so he could avoid war. Since it was impending no matter what he had to say about it, he had offered to tip Sookie off as soon as he heard something. We all knew it was her that Breandan would come for if not for revenge for Lochaln and Neave, then because she was part Fae and attached to the Prince.

So while it wasn't much the warning was one we would need because the fairy wasn't our only enemy. We still had a score to settle with Russell Edgington. For now my Queen was keeping her eye on him. Coupled with her unwilling but powerful new husband, Felipe, Louisiana was now a force few wanted to tangle with. Once Breandan went down the king of Mississippi was next.

The next month was fairly quiet. We kept the appearance of business as usual and I took every night without news as good news. It gave me more time to plan. I wasn't getting any hands from Sophie-Anne. It would draw attention and that was the last thing we needed. Breandan had to be made to feel like he had the element of surprise and the upper hand.

September was half way over and on a Thursday evening I rose to find Sookie dressed for war. The absence of Casey was a big enough indicator. Whenever she was going to be gone for more than two hours Sookie left her kitten with her former roommate. It wasn't her all black attire that told me she had gotten the call we'd been waiting for. It was her emotions. In me I didn't feel anything that was familiar in the woman I loved. There was no fear, no uncertainty, no anticipation of the battle to come, nothing. Had I not known what we would be facing when we left home it would have alarmed me. But I knew it was what all of us had to do tonight. It was the best way to guarantee we made it home.

"What would you guys say if I asked you to sit this out?" she looked to Godric. He was dressed similarly in all black and was perched on the kitchen counter with a bottle of blood in hand.

"I would not care." Godric said. "I care not what we do, so long as we are together. All of us or none of us."

"I'd tell you to try and make me," was my cool retort. I kissed her head and went into the fridge to grab a blood.

She smiled and it was a cross between exasperation and resignation. "Thought so," she huffed.

I got dressed and downed a six pack of blood without a grimace. Once that was done we rode back to Sookie's home in Godric's car. I could read the activity of the deceptively quiet night. There were two natured of several varieties. I was guessing werewolf, panther, the shifter and something wilder, tiger. They blended in nicely with those of my vampires. Thalia, Clancy and Indira were present. They were all I could spare but I hoped it would be enough. Pam had been under an edict not to come anywhere near here.

There wasn't enough information on me to go off where our enemy was concerned. Brendan could have ten with him and he could have twenty, raging anywhere from centuries to decades old. Their abilities were also unknown. Therefore I couldn't risk them touching any of us. They were almost as nasty as witches in that respect. We had to plan on using overwhelming odds to gain victory. Not the best strategy but not the worse either.

Godric kissed Sookie and me then he left to group the formation to better prepare our ambush. Also I knew he needed space to clear his mind. He would have to drag the creature he had become over the ages to the surface after setting it to rest. I knew a part of him hated it but he would do anything, be anything for Sookie and so would I.

Sookie with her ability caught the approach before I caught the scent. "Someone up stairs likes me." She said with a relieved smile. "Barry," she called taking off at a light sprint. She threw herself into his arms and held him tight.

Behind Barry were members of the kingdom of Texas. I didn't know the specifics on how Sookie had pulled it off but I was beyond glad that she had. She contacted Stan but he had made no promises. My guess was he still very much remembered the last time we had been in his state.

"Thank you."

"Nothin' doin' sug. This don't even make us near even," he said "At least in my book. But Stan says and I quote, 'My debt is paid. Inform her, I owe her no more lives.'"

"Thank you all the same," Sookie replied.

The vampires from behind him came over to me and Barry wished us luck and parted with Farrell. That had been really good but it wasn't all. The pair were still visible when more help came.

"André," I said turning towards the deepest parts of the woods. I was so familiar with his scent that it registered even from the distance and he was not alone.

He spared me a nod. "Hello pet," he said with a bright smile aimed at Sookie.

Had she not explained I never would have understood their bizarre relationship. There was zero sexual attraction on either part. They weren't overly friendly. In fact sometimes they were ornery. They had similar interests like guns and explosive but it didn't seem like enough to tolerate the likes of André. In my eyes very little was.

"S'up bud," She said going over and nudging her shoulder with his.

"We are friends, aren't we?" he said throwing a hand around her shoulders and leaning his head against hers.

I still didn't like André but he had climbed some notches. He had brought the top fighters of the Queen's guard. It was a sign of the regard in which Sophie-Anne held Sookie. She showed trust. Not much, because I would wager she was in a safe house in the middle of nowhere. Still, this was a grand gesture. It was help we might need.

"Yeah," Sookie said thoughtfully. "I guess that's why even though you could be anywhere in the world, you're here with me, huh?"

He shot her a confused look and shook his head. "No, I want to test the new sig saucers,"

Sookie punched his arm and narrowly avoided his answering jab. They laughed and despite myself I couldn't help but smile. That was just odd. "The bullets are good for capture and I also brought vests"

They crouched over a black bag he had brought and armed themselves. "No capture on the menu today. Just kills."

Sookie had created caviler vest for vampires. She had picked many things from Dallas. The research facility had been making ample head way in vampire extermination weaponry. She had taken many ideas and modified them. The bullets I had found were just one of many. The vests she had given André in the fight against Felipe repelled any and all things silver, be they bullets or daggers. Several of the younger vampires were armed with them now.

The tiger came slinking out from the woods and he nudged his head into Sookie's middle. She shot him a look of censure.

"Yeah Quinn," she said wrapping her arms around his massive neck. "I'm sure."

I arched a brow at her to explain but she simply shook her and came to my side and took my hand. Sookie was seated between Godric and I. The night was still as we sat in position to await the fairies. Aside from the rise and fall of her chest she was utterly still. She had closed herself off again. It was just a guess because all three of us had. Feeling blood lust might shake her and ruin her focus, likewise feeling her anxiety might ruin ours. Any anxiety she felt would make us fight with fear instead of skill and strength. It was a weakness we couldn't afford.

The first indicator was the shifter. He appeared before Sookie as some kind of little raccoon. They shared some kind of communication.

"Two minutes until enemy contact," Sookie said. She removed the safety from her gun and André did the same. Everyone else did one last weapons check. "Inbound from the northeast and southwest points. Atlas," There was a low purr as the tiger answered. "You're with Cap, intercept hostiles from the south. Hit them hard, hit them fast and drive them north. André, you and yours are with me and my guys'." Because if he fell we would have Sophie-Anne's wrath to contend with "We'll take the north. Everyone else, answer distress calls in either direction if you can, otherwise sit tight and await your packages in the center, we'll bring the party to you."

"Lover, that is the sexiest thing I've ever heard you say," I said it because I simply couldn't let it go unsaid.

There were several snorts of amusement. "I have to agree," Godric chimed in.

It was probably warped considering what we were facing but I have never been so turned on by mere words alone. Sookie sounded sure and authoritative. She was armed, dangerous and giving orders in a way that made you want to follow. There was something about her being in charge of such a powerful force and using it to its full capacity that made me want her.

More than the dominant air to her was the fact that she was baring all that she was. Often she'd been our fiery vixen and the bed had been her stage. Add the fact that we were all about to go into a fight and it was a huge turn on. It was too much to contemplate that our opponents were going to be fairies. I was dying to get home so I could make love with my lovers until the sun came up.

"You guys are such pervs," Sookie muttered under her breath but there was laughter in her voice before she continued to address the fighters. "Team, the objective is to kill, accept no surrender and take no prisoners and show no mercy because I can guaran-damn-tee that you'll get none in return."

A minute later, the effervescent warmth in the air that signaled that the fairies were coming. Our ambush had been perfectly coordinated. The roar of several two natured signaled the beginning of the battle. I had no idea what the fairies were expecting but it wasn't for two species to be working together to take them down.

Before Sookie, Godric, myself, Thalia and André's team got too far north we heard the team from the south driving the fight to the ambush in the center. It didn't take long for hell to break loose soon after that.

Once we reached our targets I had lost my visual on Sookie. I didn't worry. The continuous fall of bullet shells were preceded by the crack of gun fire. It helped me focus. André was firing one gun and my lover was on the other. The thing about vampires fighting fairies was that when a vampire made a kill and allowed him or herself a taste of the kill they became utterly useless. While we had them buried in bodies, we were losing fighters that had never encountered a fairy before because they reacted instinctively. Thankfully there were not many.

"Mag," André called.

The only other person that had what he needed was Sookie and she was nowhere near him. She was facing off with a fairy female with a mace and the broad knew how to use it. She was having some trouble. Before I could make my way over Godric intercepted. He made quick work of the dark haired Fae, perching on her back and relieving her of her head.

Sookie ran past me but she wasn't going to reach André soon enough. He was well out of his league with two fairies attacking him head on. I caught her and took the item and launched it to the lieutenant while she covered my back.

To have bet all his forces on this attack, Breandan must have been sure of victory. That was the only reason a fairy would risk what was left of their dying species male or female. The fighting had thinned and there was really no one left for our allies to kill. It was as if Sookie had picked up and verbalized my train of thought.

"Something's wrong," she said stilling and whipping her head from side to side. "He isn't here." Considering that we were killing his supporters in droves, that was unusual.

"That's because I am here, you filthy eyesore." He must have been fast to have gotten the drop on her. He appeared behind Sookie. One hand was around her throat and the other held a dagger to her throat.

I stilled and it was Godric who had to finish off my opponent for me. My eyes were wide with terror and my body stood frozen with it. No matter how fast I moved I wouldn't be able to intercept that. By the way Godric had tensed beside me I knew there was nothing he could do either. None of the friends Sookie had could save her even as we formed a circle around the last Fae standing. All we could do was watch.

Despair didn't set in. I refused to lose her. If Breandan cut her throat I could turn her and keep her with me. It was not something we had talked about in great detail but I honestly couldn't bring myself to care. She wasn't leaving us. It was just that simple.

"You are truly disgusting, aren't you?" Breandan hissed looking at the scene with loathing. His people fought fiercely but died all the same. "Your own kind abhors you and they should. You are an abomination; exactly what we warn the others of but they pay us no heed. They allow Niall to continue destroying our people," he caressed her face in a deceivingly tender gesture. "I will end him and his line with you."

"Lots of fairies here," Sookie replied sounding unconcerned. "Some dead; some dying but Niall ain't one of them."

"He didn't tell you, did he?" Breandan mocked. "No, Niall never tells all." He wound his arm around her waist holding her closer, holding her so tightly to him that she gasped for breath. "No matter," A manic glaze had washed over his eyes.

Godric and I crept forward in infinitesimal movements. It did not go unnoticed. "You cannot save her, dead things, you can only watch as I place her ever beyond your reach," Breandan continued with a bright smile. "You have waged this war little girl, you have exhausted your resources and my victory will be achieved with your death. I have won." He caressed her face.

Sookie laughed and she sounded sincerely amused. "For all your better than thou talk you're awfully dim. War never determines whose right," Sookie said with a soft smile. "Only who was left. And at the very end, when the paint dries and the dust settles, when the elusive fat lady finally gets to sing her song, I will always be the last one standing. This dance with the devils' no different."

I watched her face and there was no fear. There was nothing that showed that was paying the fairy at her back any heed. Her eyes were on Godric and me. That should have been a good thing. It should have reassured me that she had a plan but it didn't. What I felt coming from her wasn't concentration or unyielding focus like earlier, it was grim acceptance.

"Let us put that to the test," he said.

The fairy lowered his blade from her throat and sliced a shallow path to her heart. In the bond I felt her trying to calm me but I didn't want to be calm. Sookie didn't fight or even flinch from the pain. Contrarily the lower it became the more serene she became. Her face was peaceful; it was a clam that only the embrace of death could offer.

Godric flittered from my side but fast as he was he even he was only able to catch her before she fell. Breandan plunged the knife into Sookie a fraction before that. At the angle the blade passed through Sookie's lungs, and pierced his heart. The Fae bastard got a painless death of his own choosing. While he made sure she would die slowly and painfully and couldn't be saved by us. I was looking into her paling face and the gushing wound that wouldn't heal. Her lungs were flooding with blood. She would drown in it. Vampire blood would do nothing.

My lover, my Sookie, my reason for being, wasn't going to die. I wasn't selfless enough to let her go. Dying was easy and I wasn't that merciful. Even if she had to suffer through the fires of hell to get back to us she would do it.

"You can be angry when you rise," I said. I was used to it and could deal with it even if it lasted forever. "I can live with that but not this."

She gasped. "…need to trust me," her eyes were focused even as the life was leaving her body at an alarming pace. "…have to die."

My hands were fisted in my hair tugging at the strand in utter duress. The pain helped me stay focused even though I was one shard away from falling apart. I was beyond words. I had no idea how I was going to totally disregard what she asked of me. I couldn't. I choked on the pain and sobbed.

It was Godric who spoke for me. "No, beloved no," he said "We cannot."

Bloody tears were running down his cheeks also and he looked like a creature holding onto his very sanity by a scant thread. Seeing her hurt and suffer was bad enough. To watch as the life left her eyes and her pulse fade into shadow was too much for either of us. Damn what she wanted. We would ignore it. It was just a matter of who would turn her.

"I told you. I could handle anything except this. You can hate me," He said with a nod as he rolled up his sleeve. "I will live with that forever if I must but not this, not like this."

To the south I heard snarls and sounds of fighting but I didn't think it was more enemy forces. The weres might have been disagreeing over something. I couldn't spare the energy to think more into it.

"…never hate you," Sookie rasped shaking her head. "Ever, love you…both…more than anything."

Her eyes rolled to the back of her head and her body trembled and shivered as deaths chill settled over her like an everlasting cloak. She tried to speak but she was seized by a bout of coughs that her battered body could hardly force out. With what little strength she had in her body she averted her eyes to André, Thalia and Lucas of Texas. I noticed much too late that they were the only ones around and that they were grouped oddly close together.

"Stop them," she whispered.

Thalia, André and his guard blitz Godric and I. The attack was so unexpected that it gave them the advantage they needed. They were fighting to restrain which meant they pretty latched onto us and hung on. We the both of us fought hard but there was nothing to be done for their numbers.

Damn that woman and her affinity for knowing us. Sookie knew we wouldn't listen. No matter how much we trusted her, to be faced with her death was not something Godric or I could handle. She knew it.

There was a serene smile on her face as she looked up at starry night sky and the crescent moon. "The sun has set on my time in the world of the living. The darkness has come. I call the reaper…" Sookie wheezed and fought to suppress another bout of coughs even as blood seeped from her lips. "…for my soul to take."

Those last words had been made through sheer force of will alone. This was a fucking nightmare. She was dying right in front of me and I was helpless to save her. We both were. Her heart beat was fizzling all throughout and it was now so faint. I could barely hear it. I could now barely feel the warmth of her body. I was so close. I was so close but it wasn't enough.

"She's dying!" I roared "André that is not something you want." No matter what else I knew, I was certain he cared about her even if only a little. He cared. "Let me go! Please, let me go." His body was wrapped around mine on the ground, his hands snaked more forcefully around my neck, while his guards pinned down the rest of me.

"I do not want this," and he truly sounded like he didn't. "I owe her a life and this is how she settles the score." He replied. "I must prevent your intervention so my debt will be paid."

I looked and found that Godric was fighting Thalia and Rasul and Lucas. I knew why Sookie had chosen all of them to be here tonight at this last stand, why she had grouped them with us. They all owed her blood and lives in varying amounts. In Arkansas she had saved Seigebert and Sophie-Anne, which explained André's presence. In Dallas she had saved Lucas at the club and then she also saved the lives of vampires at the Dallas nest. Barry's comment made sense. During her brush with Hallow she had saved Thalia. The softness that I thought I imagined with Thalia had been real. She had regained the memory of her time when she was cursed. She would do what Sookie wanted even if it killed her. She would do it.

Neither Godric nor I ever stopped fighting for the woman we loved. With every slowing beat of her heart our fighting became more desperate. She was dying and soon there was truly nothing we could do. Finally the last beat came and we froze. Our struggles subsided in unison. Our eyes locked and we realized we were all alone all over again. The bond that had held us together was missing the most vital part. It was the point of pain so deep and so potent there was nothing we could do. The hands holding us were useless. There was nothing else to fight for. She was now forever beyond our reach. She was gone.

It never got a chance to register that glaring truth. There was a shimmer of light and a figure appeared over Sookie's head where she now so very still and lifeless. From the size it was a male and he dressed in an immaculately cut black suit with black tie and black cape. I couldn't see the face but I heard more than a few indrawn gasps.


	36. Back To Life

**Chapter Thirty-six**

"Felicitari," the deep voice murmured. In his tone there was surprise but his affection wasn't lost. The language was Hungarian but with a newer Romanian lilt to it. "You have won fată mea." He sounded more than a little saddened by what he saw. From my peripheral I saw him drop to his knees and place a kiss on her forehead. His face was still looming directly over hers as he whispered, "You defeated them all."

The hold André had on my neck slackened enough to allow me to turn my head to the side. What I saw was the last thing I had ever expected. There was just no way that could be who I thought it was. There was just no fucking way that Dracula, the prince of darkness, was here.

He ran his little finger deeply over his fangs and slipped it deftly into the knife wound at Sookie's side. He caressed her face as he worked, brushing sweat and blood soaked hair from her face. Looking up as if taking notice of the rest of us for the first time, he waved an errant hand. There was an otherworldliness to the way he moved, it was written in that slight gesture alone. It emanated from the glow of his body and the way he seemed to stand apart from all that was around him, untouchable.

"Visigoth, Viking," he said with a nod of his head. Suddenly the hold of André and his guards fell away. He didn't have to do the same for Godric; Thalia, Lucas and Rasul had already released him. "Come, your lover needs to go where I go, for now." He rose, dexterously gathering Sookie in his arms. I noticed that he hadn't removed the finger that he'd imbedded in her side. It was what kept me from taking her from him. Whatever purpose it was serving it was necessary. The same bright light appeared. It was some kind of portal. Dracula stepped through it and neither Godric nor I needed to think before we followed in after him. We could be walking into the sun but that was the least of our troubles.

The feel of the light that surrounding the opening was cool. It raised the hairs on the back of my neck. That wasn't at all a good sign but it wasn't enough to slow my pace. There was a moment where the lighting got too bright and I had to close my eyes against it. The feeling of solid ground beneath my feet fell away. It felt like I was falling but my ability to fly didn't kick in. Godric's hand in mine kept me centered while we traveled through time, location, and maybe even through space. I had no idea and in truth it didn't matter. I would walk through fire for Sookie.

The blinding light stopped. My feet found purchase and the spinning sensation stopped. I blinked a few times and found that I was in a bedroom. The first thing I noticed was the amount of moisture in the air. It told me I was very high up in terms of altitude. Then the room itself registered. It was old world, really old world. The décor was Gregorian in its feel. It lacked nothing in opulence and deep colors. It was intense without being oppressive. There was a candled chandelier that hung from the domed ceiling that served as the only source of light. The carvings that adorned the bed, the paintings on the wall, every well placed fixture, they all spoke of an older place and time.

Dracula placed Sookie on the bed. He waited a few more seconds before he removed his finger from her side. With another wave of his hand over her sleeping form her bloody battle worn clothes fell away. She was in a night gown. Her face was clean. Her hair wound itself in a neat braid that fell over her right shoulder. That should impress me a lot more than it did and I was sure if I was in less of a state of panic it would.

"She has always been so lovely," he murmured stepping away with her discarded clothes in hand. "So beautiful and extraordinary in her soul that it angered death."

"I do not understand. How?" Godric asked moving to the side of the bed and taking a seat.

"Have you never wondered how or why she finds so much violence finds her despite her or your best efforts?"

Yes. I have wondered that very thing on more than one occasion. I'd once teased her that I didn't see nearly as much violence in the dark ages as she seemed to find just by getting out of bed in the morning. All of that I'd simply attributed to her beauty, telepathy and her immersion into the world of the supernatural. Bad luck maybe, but nothing like this.

"Getting struck by lightning is bad luck." Dracula said, rolling his eyes. "Her's is a curse."

He waved a hand and a little glass dome that held a single lily flower appeared and on it was a single petal that clung. The lone petal was the color of lavender and smelled like Sookie. It was her blood and probably her life force that kept the flower alive and nothing else. I didn't need an explanation on why so many petals had fallen. Those that had fallen were the shade of blood but as the pile rose they gradually began to morph in color. Burgundy bled into bright red and that turned to pink and then lilac. I stared in equal parts dismay and awe. There were countless petals, so much so it nearly covered the entire stem.

"Igen," Dracula said looking at me and Godric. "You are correct; every time a petal fell she found herself in mortal peril and was gazing upon the reaper's door."

I was trying to understand how she had survived because I simply had no idea. My poor lover. How many times had she been hurt, been afraid, and near death but so alone? It made me hurt to contemplate the reality. In my thousand years of life I did not think I had brushed the veil this many times. Mere days ago she had come clean about so much. She had told us everything about her, the good, the bad and ugly. So why had she not told us about this?

"She would have dropped dead," he said reading our minds. A part of me was aware of it but since it had been helping move the conversation along I didn't fight or bristle at the intrusion.

"The reaper, he is like all the Gods that govern the forces of this world. Little does he care for the plight of those upon this plane, but it does happen. Someone extraordinary enough will peak his interest, be they evil or good it matters not. Fortunately, there are rules that dictate balance in all the worlds and the reaper, he is not exempt. He desired your mate and couldn't simply take her for it was not her time. He could however plague her, and plague her he did. He took everything from her eagerly and hoped she would succumb to his embrace on her own."

That hung in the air. I wondered if Sookie knew and I hoped she didn't because she would blame herself. "I have mastered death," the Prince continued. "He coveted me for my particular brand of…shall we say, antisocial behaviors." He flashed a wicked smile. "Now in turn I see him where he stalks and hear him when he calls. I met your Sookie when she was fifteen years of age. That day she had run away and death walked soundly by her side. He was calling her name so very loudly that it was all I could hear. Truly, I have never seen him haunt one person so. I was further intrigued because this little thing moved with a completely irrational sense of optimism." He paused to smile down at her, though it was more sardonic than anything else. "As I drew closer I realized she was part Fae, not just any Fae, but the Elite of her generation."

"What is that?" Godric asked. I shared the confusion; that was not a term I'd ever heard. It wasn't saying much, Fairies ever let known what they didn't want common knowledge.

"Niall the sky prince he is the Elite of his generation, powerful and revered even by his foes. Breandan was the Elite of his and so on. Elites are inherently gifted and always leave their marks on the world be it good or bad."

That explained why Niall wanted her with him. He could have trained her and made her an even more formidable contender than she was now. That was one reason he might want her but the words Breandan spoke were still in my mind.

Dracula snorted and rolled his eyes in a very human way. "I'm not even going to touch that one," he muttered. "Anyway, that day I told her the truth of her future out of mercy perhaps. She thanked me and with a warm smile she continued on her way. I watched her go, very sure that at any moment something would happen to settle her score. It didn't."

Both Godric and I whipped our heads to the bed. Sookie's heartbeat pattered back into existence. It had stopped back at the woods of her home. We hung on the beat now but it was fleeting. Dracula wasn't didn't appear to be surprised by this. He paused momentarily in his tale to slice his little finger again and inserted it into her mouth, seeing the knife wound had been presumably bandaged but not healed.

Once he was finished tending to Sookie, Dracula removed his cloak and draped it behind his chair before he sat. "She did not die that day, obviously," he continued. "I did, however find her two weeks later. She'd been stabbed. I watched as she bled out and death waited eagerly for her soul to take but a vampire came along and saved her."

I was willing to bet that vampire was Russell. Obviously it didn't mean he cared a thing about her. There is law greater than blood amongst the undead. Sookie must have gotten hurt defending him. That had been the only reason he would give her blood. I would wager some of his people had been around and he couldn't allow the blood debt to go unpaid. A knocked sounded and a female vampire entered through the double doors. She was dressed in a red lace gown with a black veil over her face. She carried a gold tray in her hand. It held three glasses and a crystal decanter full of blood. She set her burden down and filled the glasses. With a look at Sookie, the female left without a word. I've been there quite a few times myself to know it when I saw it; Dracula was getting the cold shoulder.

The only difference in the Prince as he continued was a slight frown otherwise he pretended the woman hadn't come and gone. "Curious over that missed encounter I sought Sookie out again four years later; sure I would find a grave. Instead I found her humming and awaiting a bus with a battle worn tiger, of all creatures. At that time she candidly informed me that she was sick of my doom and gloom forecast. That was how we struck our bargain: I assumed the odds were in my favor. Since the pair was headed for basic training in the military I was sure she would not live to see her twenty-first year. If six months after her twenty-fifth year of life she still survived the odds I would show her how to master death."

"She just couldn't evoke that agreement to get here there," I surmised.

He nodded. "The clause forbade her from even speaking my name in passing and if ever she divulged our bargain, it would be negated. The flower would wilt and die, as would she. Before she turned twenty-five and a half she had to avoid the reaper but never offer a sacrifice to balance the scales and never allow another to die in her place. To defeat death fully he must first desire you and then you must accept him on your terms but never his. This she did tonight. In so doing she could finally meet him as his equal to decide her fate." He gazed down at her and a shook his head. His disbelief was blatant. If there was anything I'd learned it was not to underestimate Sookie. "So many times, she had come within a hair's breadth but she refused to yield, she refused to bow. No matter how many times her body had been broken and battered, her spirit never wavered."

"If we tried to turn her it would have failed." Godric said with something like revulsion in his voice. "We would have killed her."

Dracula nodded. "You would have done scores worse. Once the death God speaks your name, the body, and the soul, all that a person is could only ever belong to onto themself or to him but never to another." He tilted his head to the side as if he heard something we did not. "Even now they fight for it." There was a look on his face that said the reaper wanted it badly.

She wanted her soul more. She was going to come back to us. I believed those words. Doubt clawed at me though. Sookie was so pale and still. It was so unlike the woman I knew that I couldn't help but caress her cheek. The temperature felt all wrong. I wanted her to wake up so I could see her eyes. I wanted to hear her do that little snort thing. I wanted to see her smile.

"If I understand properly she cannot be made vampire." Godric said.

The Prince of Darkness offered him a nod of agreement. I had gathered as much but I just hadn't cared to think through it. I didn't care what Sookie rose as, I just cared that she did rise. I needed her to come back. We both did.

"What will she be when she wins?" my maker continued. I took his hand in mine. I loved the fact that he said, 'when' she wins and not 'if.' He believed like I did that if this was a test of wills that Sookie would win. That woman could bash her head against a brick wall and have the wall give long before she did. Dracula smiled a sinister smile.

"Halhatatlan," he replied in his native tongue. It roughly translated to demigod. "A bridge amongst the immortal, the greatest Elite the Fae have ever known and a guardian Angel amongst humans." He smiled down at her, "She will be invincible, a mighty Goddess in her own right." Then he left the room. Godric was lying beside Sookie. His arm was around her waist. His head was resting on her pillow. My body was wrapped around his so my arm was thrown around them both. Honestly if anyone had asked me three years ago if I would ever allow the dawn to find me outside a place I knew to be secure, I would have answered no. It was amazing that as long as I'd lived, my existence was now so inextricably bound to another—two others. The sun pulled Godric and me under in a place that was less than familiar to either of us. That didn't matter. If I didn't rise again I wouldn't care. Nothing was as absolutely crucial as the two people I was holding in my arms. They mattered. Dead as I was there was nothing that held me to the world of the living but them.

It was like the absence I suffered after Chicago. This instance came without any of the uncertainty. Sookie was back. I wasn't conscious yet. It was like being aware of a far off sense of consciousness. I didn't know how I knew it. I couldn't really say I did because with her turning the bond had been severed but I knew it all the same. My blood didn't recognize her but my body did because it belonged in part to her.

I waited for the sun to release me but there was nothing to keep time with. The heartbeat of both my lovers was nonexistent. That wasn't entirely accurate. As I strained against the fog of my mind to listen, Sookie's heartbeat was in the air. I could hear it. Over time I'd become so attuned to it that I could single it from a thousand others. Now, it was just so much slower than I'd become accustomed to. Still, I could hear her breath of life—faintly.

The sun fell away and I shot up into a sitting position to see my lover kneeling beside me on the bed. Her smile was warm and maybe a little unsure. I didn't have the mental capacity for words. I grabbed her and crushed her to me.

"Hello lover," I murmured. Over her head I observed Godric beaming a beatific smile that I saw only when all three of us were together.

Sookie wound her arms around my neck and she held me just as tight as I held her. "Hi baby,"

"IIona," the Prince called to the woman he had introduced as his wife. "I did as you asked, so you owe me a smile." He flashed a charming smile that she scoffed at. There was humor in her eyes and she looked away to obviously hide her amusement.

"Whatever Dracula," she mocked, tossing her glossy hair over her shoulder. "Bram Stoker makes me smile, not you."

He laughed as if he was quite used to it. Undeterred, he blew her a kiss and she caught it even with her back to him.

There were some things that I was sure I would never ever see. Since I'd been beyond that since last night, the fact that Dracula, _the_ Dracula was so…mellow didn't shock me too much. For starters I was in Bulgaria. It was where I'd been since the battle. We would leave soon but he sun was still up in the place we were going to and the people we needed to see were not awake.

So far I'd learned that Sookie was a demigod of death. I couldn't grasp what it meant entirely but I knew that it made her a true immortal and gave her power beyond anything what many on this plane could fathom. Anything she desired was a thought away. When she defeated death she was granted one gift and paid one price, both had been of her choosing. I wondered why she didn't get rid of her telepathy. We knew how much trouble it caused her in her life but she chose to retain it as her price. What she wanted most was never to be able to read the minds of Godric or I.

Long ago I thought I understood her rationale but it was now that I knew it for what it was; she would never want anything to interfere with the life she had with Godric and me, nothing. Idly I wondered why I couldn't see her as someone other than the woman I loved. I wondered why her new limitless power didn't make me want to plan to cultivate all its uses. I wondered why just seeing her smile was the most important thing in the world. It was because I loved her and everything else in the world combined still held no appeal.

"Thank you," Sookie said to the Prince and his mate for the millionth time. "For everything."

"You are most welcome," IIona said. "We will see you all soon."

"Not too soon," Sookie added. I think she said those words because Dracula was thinking them. He had been gracious but looked ready to get us all out of his hair. Godric draped his arm around her waist and mine went around her shoulder. We were ready to face the world together.


	37. Epilogue

**Epilogue **

"Sorry," Sookie said rubbing my arm. "That probably didn't feel good." On the other side of her Godric was rolling on the balls of his feet to test his balance.

You can definitely say that again. I'd never happier to feel solid ground in my entire existence. The past week Sookie had been testing her powers. So far they were limitless, but just because she had them didn't mean she knew exactly how to use them. She'd been practicing her ability to teleport. So far she could do it very well when she was alone. It was identical to what the Prince had used, with the bright light and the gusts of wind. When she tried it with Godric and me it was nowhere near as smooth.

"I'll get used to it," I replied trying to blink my eyes back into focus.

"I got us here," she enthused sounding ever chipper. "That's the most important thing." If I wasn't so dizzy I would nod to agree.

"But we're taking the bus back," Godric teased.

"Hey," she said with a laugh. "I'm an all-powerful demigod. You best not sass me, handsome."

He chuckled and kissed the corner of her lips. "I'll do more than sass you."

I could hear but my sight took longer to focus on the scene. We had reached our destination of the Queen's receiving home in New Orleans, "I beat my resignation here," It wasn't an easy thing to do. I'd sent it by way of Diantha, the demon, and nothing moved faster on land. "Not bad."

"Thank you Eric," Sookie encouraged with a pointed eye roll at my maker. "Come on, I'll beam us up." She extended her fingers and wriggled them. I was sure it wasn't supposed to be sinister but that was what it appeared to me.

"It's not that good." I quipped, taking a step back.

Godric laughed. She tried not to join on but lost. "Okay, fine," she chuckled "let's hoof it."

The walk wasn't long. A guard spotted us long before we were on the property and waved us inside. He was familiar and he looked calm despite the sounds of conflict that I could hear.

"Felipe is having a tantrum," Sookie translated.

I knew he was a bit into theatrics but this was the first I was witnessing it. It was a sight. The room that had been a grand library but it was now demolished. Anything breakable had been broken. Lighting fixtures had been pulled down. There were holes in the walls and with the exception of the seats being occupied not a single piece of furniture was left standing.

I entered the room first. Sookie was behind me and Godric brought up the rear. I got a chance to register the state of things. On the right side of the room was Felipe DeCastro. He stood glaring at the opposite wall where Sophie-Anne stood with her two children. Upon my entry the king of Nevada whipped his head to the left. My presence caused him to growl but when he saw Sookie he roared and launched forward. Godric and I formed a wall in front of her before he got close. The only way he would get to her was through us and we all knew it wasn't going to happen.

"If you fancy your fangs where they are," Godric began. His tone was one of poorly contained aggression. "You will retract them."

He let out a shriek that was equal parts rage and frustration and hands were fisted roughly in his shoulder length hair and he looked like he was losing his mind.

"Retract your fangs," My maker insisted once his piercing scream had faded. There were only two people that knew how close Felipe was to catching it. Damned if I'd warn him.

"It's okay," Sookie said wrapping her arms around Godric waist, keeping where he was. "He needs to vent,"

Felipe's head whipped to her and his eyes were feverish. "You think you are so smart," he hissed. "You think you have won, pero déjame decirte. Vampires have a long memory. We. Never. Forget. You have delivered me to 'La grande bruja' but what do you think she will do with you now?" He sneered viciously. "Do you think she will keep you close? No. She will drink you dry and feed the crows your pretty blue eyes."

"You didn't get it," she replied calmly. "I could give a shit about money or anything else. All that ever mattered is them."

He snarled at her and inched forward, "I should have killed you like Victor said," he snarled.

"That's why you're here and he isn't." There was steel in her tone. "It was either this or kill you and I felt real bad about having to go that route." She flashed herself from behind me and ended up in front of Felipe. I was sure he would have flinched if he wasn't so dumbfounded. "I came to make it better."

His eyes were fixed on her and his hostility was gone and he looked curious. "What are you?" He was listening to her heartbeat which was steady. He pulled in her scent which told him nothing. She was the same physically but she drank blood though she still needed human food. She was just a demigod in jeans and a sweater.

"I'm between here and there," she replied with a shrug. The response was evasive and it told everyone who didn't know that they wouldn't find out. She waved her hand and the room was restored. All broken things were made whole, the over turned furniture righted.

"Show off," I muttered. Godric chuckled and Sookie turned and stuck her tongue out at me. We were the only ones that seemed to be able to do anything but stare at her.

When all was as it should be two chess boards appeared on a table and she gave Felipe a challenging look and he walked over to it. Not having anything else to do, we all watched as they played. Chess was a game of strategy and she had proved to be a master in that art. Still Felipe played admirably and as their matched continued he was happy to forget his ire.

"You know, you might like her if you gave her a chance," Sookie said, placing her knight in attack position. "You never know, you might make each other happy. Stranger things have happened."

Felipe sniffed at the utterly ridiculous notion, "The only way that witch will ever be happy is in a broom factory."

While André glowered at the insult, his maker and mine chuckled. She seemed genuinely amused by the tirades of the Cuban. "My dear husband, you wound me."

"I could only hope," he spat.

Before he could gather more steam to fuel another rant Sookie interrupted. "Tell me what I can do to make this better," she said. "I owe you and I'm now strong enough to pay."

"End her," he said pointing to Sophie-Anne.

Sookie ran her hands through her hair. "I knew you'd say that but I've sworn to never hurt her unless she hurts me."

"Make her dissolve the marriage," he pressed.

"That would hurt her, so no."

He growled, "There is no end date to the union and this is never done amongst our kind. There is her or the true death but no other freedom for me. And she receives twenty percent of the combined earnings of my casinos as her monthly allowance yet she performs none of her wifely duties, the marriage isn't even consummated. Even if it were, we have some of the best whores in the world in my state but none of them cost a fraction of that."

My lover was uncomfortable with the turn of the conversation. She looked to Sophie-Anne who was wearing an amused smirk. Be it because of her husband or Sookie I had no idea. My guess was both.

"What troubles you most?" Godric asked. "The lack of sex or the money?"

"Both," Felipe hissed.

Sookie looked to Sophie-Anne expectantly. The Queen huffed. "Fine, twelve percent of your income as allowance," She wasn't being at all greedy. Arkansas, the state that she had inherited from her previous husband, was in dire financial straits. To turn it from a liability into an asset, she needed a steady supply of cash.

"Two," he retorted.

"Ten and sex twelve times a year,"

He growled losing his temper all over again, "Five and sex anytime I desire."

The Queen nodded her agreement but Felipe wasn't done, "I live upon her mercy," he said facing Sookie, who up until that point had been going through great lengths not to focus on the discussion. "I am to spend three weeks out of the month here. I have also signed a document forfeiting my life if she meets the true death, yet the same does not apply to her."

"She hasn't ended you," André retorted. "Though someone should." The king of Nevada threw a handful of his board game pieces at the lieutenant. Sookie waved her hand stopping them midair and returning them.

"Okay." She materialized scissors out of thin air and cut a few strands of her hair. We all watched as the strands wound themselves into two separate braids forming two bracelets. "Your hand," she said to Felipe. I was sure if he was in a position where he had more to lose he might be more hesitant. Such as it was he held his hand out and watched curiously. She fastened one around his wrist. "She or anyone sent by her or hers will forever fail in doing you harm as long you are her husband."

"And anyone else," he prompted eagerly.

She snorted delicately, "Yeah, you're on your own there," she said, fastening the other braid onto Sophie-Anne's wrist.

"Happy?" Sookie asked.

"No," he said. We all rolled our eyes and shared in an audible collective sigh. He should really quit while he was ahead. "You owe me a life."

My lover nodded her agreement. "You can have it only to save never to take or give."

"I have lost too many knights." Felipe said, yeah that's because he tried to throw them. "You win again," he rose to his feet. "I want to have my wife, now." He held his hand out and she took it.

"You swear that he cannot harm her," André asked Sookie.

"I swear," she replied. "If either of them tries they'll end up hurting themselves."

We all eagerly walked out of the study. Sigebert was posted outside the door. He patted Sookie on the shoulder as she passed. I think he was grateful that she had finally gotten Felipe stop his tantrums. I had to admire the romantic and the pacifist in her. She had placed both of them in a position where they would be absolutely safe from one another. If nothing else, it would make them friends.

We followed André out of the dimly lit corridors until we reached the main receiving area.

"You said we are friends," André said, "But you're leaving," he accused, frowning at my lover.

"I'm going on vacation," she replied. "I think I've earned it."

"Then you will come back," he asked. His eyes came to me and he knew I wasn't, at least not in the political sense. It had nothing to with the Queen working with Sookie without my knowledge. We were tired. After all our loose ends were sewn we would go on vacation and I had no idea what would come after that.

Sookie smiled then flashed into his personal space. "We're friends, all you have to do is call. I'll never be too far away to hear," she wrapped around his neck and pulled him into a hug. Though it took him a few moments he reciprocated. "Promise you'll invite me to your coronation as king of Arkansas and I promise I'll help you choose only the best of the best."

"Yes," he said resting his cheek against her head. "I promise."

Sookie let him go, retreated a few paces and placed herself between Godric and me. The last thing I saw was the most unexpected. For the first time in what I was sure was forever the expression my ever vigilant lieutenant possessed fell and his angelic features dulled almost to the point where it wasn't at odds with his emotion. He looked vulnerable, like a lonely child worried over the loss of their best friend, their only friend. The scene faded and I found myself in an opulent room that I couldn't even begin to identify.

I blinked and tried to reorient myself. "We're at Russell's," Sookie said. "They can't see or hear us," True to her word Bertrand walked by us and Russell was sprawled in the bed following him with his eyes. I never really had an opinion on him before but now I did and it wasn't at all favorable. I wanted to rip his head off. If the emotion coming off my lover was anything to go by she was game. "Are you guys good?" she asked.

"Yes," I replied.

"Wait," Godric said and we both stilled. "I don't want him hurt." He spoke quickly capitalizing on our shock. "I do not want this new life to begin with blood and vengeance, please." I knew it was easy for him to say because she wasn't the one that had been hurt. I kept that point to myself because I knew we would both give him his way. Such as it was I growled.

"I still have to have words with him," Sookie snarled. "No one messes with my man." And with that she made our presence known. Surprise slowed reaction time, not that it would have made any difference. With a flick of her wrist she'd rendered Russell immobile on the bed and just because I was in a bad mood I tackled Bertrand and pinned him to the ground.

"Whatever Sophie-Anne is paying," Bertrand ground out, "I'll double it."

We ignored him. "I want to kill you," Sookie said, materializing a short sword into her hands. "Slowly," she moved closer to the bed. She moved like a predator. Her gait was easy and sure and he gaze was unswerving. "Make you want to die and I'll bring you close only to drag you back into a world of pain."

"Triple it." Bertrand said. "Please." He didn't seem too concerned for his wellbeing. He was fighting my hold but his eyes held Russell's frantic expression. "Anything you want, just don't hurt him." My lover stopped because it wasn't in her nature to hurt someone that didn't hurt her as was the case with Bertrand. "They say you are merciful. Please, I beg your mercy." She turned and nodded at me to release him. He rose slowly but his eyes were on his husband as he spoke. "Tell me what you want be it in my possession or not I will deliver it, I swear."

"He leaves me the fuck alone," she said instantly.

Bertrand was confused but he agreed immediately. "He tried to make me suffer what you could have just now." Sookie continued. "He made me live that same fear. He's getting to walk not because I want to let him but because he asked me." She inclined her head to Godric. "That shit won't work ever again. If I even feel him anywhere near my guys, he better be handing out fairy blood lollipops on Halloween otherwise I'll personally hand the grim reaper his soul to take. We clear?"

"Does he have to bring them fairy blood pops on Halloween?" Bertrand asked in all seriousness.

"Yes," I chimed in.

Godric chuckled and shook his head. "No. We will leave you and he in peace and you will do the same, yes?"

"You have my word." Bertrand said replied.

"I swear," Russell said.

We left the room the same way we came in and we landed in front of Sookie's old house. On her porch stood Niall. It took all my years of experience to keep the shock off my face. The last time I saw him he had appeared as an old man with wisps of white in his blonde hair, his face had been finely lined. Now he appeared to be in the spring time of his youth. His skin was smooth and supple and his hair was a richer shade of blonde. He hadn't parted with his cane or the suit, neither looked out of place despite the regression of his physical markers of age. The smile he wore however was as boyish as it was irritating.

Sookie was stunned for a moment "It makes sense," she murmured.

Really? Because I was confused. "Fintan cursed me when I was a kid. It was what brought me to the attention of the reaper."

"No he cursed me because of you. That and the fact that you were mostly human but were marked as the Elite of your generation brought you undue attention," Niall said proudly.

"I'm flattered," my lover replied scathingly.

"You out class all others of that title for a thousand generations past and there won't be another like you for a thousand more if ever," he gave a long suffering sigh and shot Godric and me a disapproving look. "Such a waste."

I rolled my eyes. Godric flipped him off. "We'll walk and talk," Sookie said squeezing our hands. She kissed us both and walked over to the fairy. He took her hand and wrapped one arm around her and they walked in a short circle for a while before the Prince spoke.

"Fintan loved you and your brother. He loved your father and your aunt. All of which was acceptable but it was his love for your grandmother that I disapproved of. Knowing they had no future, he rejected the mate I chose, he wouldn't even leave this plane after their union ended. At every turn he defied me because of her." Grief colored his words. "I spoke out of anger and told him he was no child of mine. Once I spoke those words rejecting him as my son, I could not take them back."

"Because you can't lie," Sookie said.

He nodded, "Yes. He called out to me when Lochaln and Neave had him but I could not hear. So, he died thinking I'd willfully abandoned him. His death was so pitiless and vile that his spirit cursed me before passing onto the Summerlands. Evermore will it my charge to care for those that descend from his blood and that of his most beloved, if ever that blood ceases to walk in any realm as will mine."

Sookie's expression was one of shock. Both Godric and I were just as stunned. Fairies were pretty much an endangered species. Their numbers have been dwindling over the years. They rarely killed one another unless they were at war, something they avoided if they could. For one of them to wipe out his own family was unheard of.

Niall nodded grimly. "Curses are heady things child; a curse that is birthed in blood, particularly the blood of thine own, is the oldest of magic."

There was a moment and Sookie seemed to be taking it all in. "So, that explains why you look like my much hotter younger brother and not my great grandfather?"

Niall chuckled. "I am quite lovely again," he said flipping his lush hair in truly fairy fashion. Sookie snorted to tell him to get on with it. He pouted but got back on topic "With the last beat of your heart, I turned to dust as did all others with my blood. When you were reborn as were we, the curse completed its course and is no more."

"That's really good." Sookie said feeling genuinely happy. Godric sniffed. I smiled. We should be so lucky that Niall had stayed dead and not come back like a spring fucking chicken. The fairy ignored us. Sookie shot us a chiding glance.

"Yes, but I still offer you all that I had before."

"No thanks, but we can still get to know each other," she allowed. "If you want."

He leaned in and kissed her head. "That would make me happy." With a parting frown aimed at Godric and me he vanished.

We went inside and nothing was more important than renewing our bond and our vows to each other. In the past when she was just human Sookie's blood was pleasurable on its own but combined with all the love I felt for her it became an aphrodisiac, a stimulus that made me remember all the ways she loved and I loved her. The taste of her blood now as a demigod was electrifying to my pallet; it was stronger; the force of it was headier. If before I thought my body belonged to her there was no more doubt after tonight. She owned Godric and me both. All we could do was endure the onslaught as she gave us more of her than either of us could handle.

"Where are we going on vacation?" Godric asked us. The sun was close to rising and the three of us were in bed, our limbs intertwined and our bodies sated.

"Don't know," Sookie said.

"Don't care," I added

He chuckled and snuggled into my side, "As long as we're together."

****The End****

* * *

A great big thank you to my Beta rebecca. t. p. wrecker. I really grew as a writer and learned a lot about polishing my work with your guidance and patience. So thank you and if you're a real glutton for punishment maybe you'll sign on for another trip? :D

We'll I have some unfinished business with my other fic and I don't know when I'll be back after I wrap that up but rest assured I am an avid procrastinator and I think up my best stuff while I'm procrastinating.

Until next time ladies and gentlemen...Muuuuuuaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!


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